A mercenary's tale
by BKone
Summary: This story is taking place in the ME universe, mostly OC's embedded into existing plot. A mercenary sniper unintentionally becoming a cue-ball in the deadly game of Omega's criminal organizations and the uncrowned Queen Aria T'Lok. Human male/Asari
1. Arrival

**Preamble**

I was inspired by the huge universe Bioware has created over the past years, including the 3 available novels it is a story to delve in. Anyway I decided to write a story about someone else than Shepard, one reason is the fact that already a lot of really great stuff is existing out there. Another reason is simply that I am free to invent new characters and change the story to my liking, not bonded by a given storyline in the background.

Timeline: The story plays shortly before Saren's attack of the Citadel

Rating: Rated T to be on the safe side, as some detailed fighting and "romantic" scenes are included.

This is my first story published on FanFiction, and I'm open for any suggestions, critics or hints you can give me, any feedback is appreciated!

The first series contains 8 chapters, another 4 are in the making and will be published soon, but I'm far from the end, so you can expect another 4-8 chapters after those, all in all I expect it to be 30+ chapters in the end.

Update August 8th 2011: 9th chapter added, 10 & 11 to be published soon!

Update August 11th 2011: 10th chapter added

Update August 15th 2011: 11th chapter added

Update August 30th 2011: 12th chapter added

Update September 5th: Can't stop writing :-) - 13th chapter added - Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate that!

Update September 19th: Busy days kept me from writing, here's the newest addition, chapter 14!

Update September 29th: Here we go again, chapter 15 has arrived! Thx for the reviews!

Update October 17th: Long time no see, business travels kept me occupied, now for Chapter 16, have fun!

Update October 31th: Here's the new release, chapter 17, lot of action in this one. I had to split it into two parts, the second one follows soon. Have fun & please review the story if you like it!

Update November 23th: Finally chapter 18, took me longer than expected, now for my holidays, will be back to work mid december ;-)

Update December 14th: Presumably the last issue this year, here's chapter 19, by far the biggest one so far!

Update February 28th, My apologies for being lazy so long, but buying a house beside work is a full time job! Considering this the next issue will take a little longer again, please have patience with me! Anyway Chapter 20, hope you enjoy it!

Update May 11th, Long time no see, our new house is not fun only, anyway here's the next release, hope you like it! Thanks for the reviews, keep going!

**Arrival**

"Here we are finally" said Captain Morrison when the old space station came into sight; it's huge, hulking form was impressing, but missing maintenance over hundreds of years had taken its toll, giving it a gloomy and filthy appearance.

I stood beside her glancing at the station which drew closer now every second. _"Almost if the hull gives you a warning before it gets worse inside" _

"It seems our journey comes to an end now" Captain Morrison said while turning around and looking at me "I enjoyed your company over the past weeks, a delighting alternation to a freighter's captains usual routine" she continued with a smile in my direction.

"Thanks for the flowers, a compliment I can return in kind, since the past weeks were running much faster than usual for me during space travels" I answered smiling back at her. "Anyway I'm glad to be able to use my own feet again, I always feel vulnerable on space ships, lacking the possibility to fight back when it comes to that."

"By the looks you are awaiting some of that during your stay on Omega" she replied looking at the full battle gear I was now wearing, a light Colossus Armour with enhanced kinetic shields, and a fair amount of plating without losing much flexibility and agility.

Accompanied by a Mantis sniper rifle, a heavy Phalanx pistol and a light Shuriken SMG, a possible attacker would at least put a second thought into it before engaging me. "Well, I'm always prepared – especially when it comes to Omega – it helps you live longer and get to know your grand children, ya'know. The best way to stay alive in this pisshole is to stay out of trouble; my appearance should keep most of the scum away".

Nodding her approval she turned back to her console as the freighter reached the designated docking area. With a hint of regret I stood looking on the entrance doors of the docking bay, and the treacherous place behind them. The past few weeks were one of the few occasions I felt almost comfortable in the past years, which was to the contribution of the woman sitting before me for the most of it. She had made subtle advances on several occasions, which I had pretended not to notice. _"I am simply not able to feel anything, hell, I cannot even imagine letting someone closer to me than an arm's length. Even to think about it makes me wish to embrace a Krogan warlord instead." _

After the docking process was finished, Captain Marla Morrison turned her attention back to me, her eyes wearing a sad expression. "Ok, Mr. "_I pretend to not notice any advances"_, this is it then, you will attend to any business you may have on this damned station and I will have to take care of my cargo".

I somehow accomplished to hide my surprise on that verbal shot "Point taken, Marla. To tell you the truth I don't exactly know what to say, only that it is not because of you, even if this sounds lame."

"Anytime I tried to _intensify_ our relationship you backed away, your eyes wearing an uncoated expression of grief and hurt. First I feared it was because of me, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced someone or something hurt you deeply in the past and you fear to let someone have a closer look behind those amazing eyes" she continued her explanation with a small smile accentuating the latter part.

"Point taken again, you're obviously winning this one, Marla. And – to acknowledge your guesswork – I'm fighting against my inner devils, and maybe I will lose that one. And if that happens, it should happen to me, and to no one else. I sometimes don't remember what I did in the past five years or why I'm still alive, and I guess I'm better off leaving it that way, anyway this is no story to be told now. Well, In fact I was never able to recount these events to anybody". I said in a gravely tone, my voice trembling slightly.

"Ok, enough of that, I can see this' not easy for you to even tell me these few bits and pieces, I'm sorry now for even asking." As she said this, her eyes glanced with a sad expression but also a slight relief for not being the reason of my rejection.

"Don't be sorry, you were just honest, and I am not able the return that favour in kind. Anyway, I have to take my leave now, 'would be glad to see you around sometime again, y'know how people say: You always see twice in life."

"I won't put a bet on it, but hope falls last, so I wish you farewell, Gray. Maybe you will find salvation sometime, and maybe I will be around to witness it" She added with a smirk after a short hesitation.

"Thank you Marla, thank you for everything. I'd be glad to have you around if I come to my senses again, not that I'm awaiting this in the near future. Anyway Omega is certainly not the place to lean back and spend some days with self reflection". I replied returning to the unpleasant view of the shabby docking bay filling the viewport of the bridge. With that I left the freighters bridge, eventually glancing back to Marla who followed my steps until I reached the outer doors and engaged the opening procedure.

Following the trace to the docking bays' entrance doors I carefully watched my surroundings, not that I anticipated an ambush – nobody awaited me actually – but with 80 murders a week, Omega was surely one of the most dangerous places to be. _"What in irony they count the murders in weeks, maybe to keep the numbers smaller, in any other place it would be at least months' if not years."_

Leaving the docking bay I entered the streets of Omega, inhaling the reeking smell of the station, a mixture of filthy air exchange units and the vapour of uncounted bodies and lots of rotten filth. _"Certainly not a place to live in, so let's get things done and be off as soon as possible; would be great to have some rock below my feet and some fresh air coming along with it." _With these thoughts old memories of my home world flooded my consciousness, like advertisements crying for your immediate attention. I suppressed the images and emotions of a time I didn't want to delve in, fearing the memories which must come up on this path. I suddenly realised I had wandered a couple of streets towards the lodging I intended to stay during these days. I accused myself for being inattentive and quickly eyed my surroundings for possible dangers, but couldn't find any. I reached the small lodge and decided to book the room before paying a visit to the "darker areas" – as if any place on Omega could be called alight –in order to buy some potentially interesting equipment and supplies, namely the black market.

Ringing the bell at the front desk, the owner of the place – a small human with nearly grey hair, a studded nose and blood-shot eyes approached me with "Hello Sir, 'would like a room for the night or need some directions?"

Remembering the man from the last time I was here roughly a year ago, I tried to recall his name but couldn't remember it _"Seems lately even my otherwise good memory starts to fall apart like the rest of me, not a big surprise, even so."_

"I would like to book a room for 3 days, maybe more, that depends; if possible a room at the backside with no windows."

"Hope you don't expect bad company, eh? Let's see what we have" he answered looking into the screen before him. "This might fit; it's at the backside, last room on the floor, only one small window in the closet. May that be ok for you?"

"Sounds good to me, I'll take it, I pay the first three days in advance, I guess you prefer that."

A slimy smile appeared on his bruised lips. "You're really expecting some trouble, eh? Anyway, o'course I prefer you pay now, ya' never know what happens tomorrow on this station". He handed me over the key card in exchange for my credits and left for the door he had emerged. "If you need something or want to prolong your stay, just ring the bell".

I quickly inspected my room, installing the small jamming device I always used on these occasions and protected the door with some additional security systems before leaving for the black markets, leaving unneeded parts of my luggage behind.


	2. The markets

**The markets**

Heading for the lower market district where I hoped to find some of my contacts I wandered through the streets of the Omega station. The buildings around me getting shabbier and the backyards visible on my way were stuffed with rotten filth, the reek growing in intensity likewise. The streets on my way were crowded with a variety of all races, who likewise changed in their appearance, some only clothed in rags, sitting in dark corners, others heading quickly in the direction of some business, and some groups of dangerous looking villains eyeing me suspiciously on my path. If not for my armour and weaponry I am not sure if I would have reached my destination, judging the gaze and occasionally side glances that followed my trail. Unharmed I reached the lower markets district which was humming with activity. I dived into the crowd, all senses on high alert _" I won´t hear them coming, that´s for sure" _quickly scanning my ever shifting surroundings for possible dangers. Reaching the first shop I wanted to visit, I entered the entrance room offering lots of technical gadgets, video games, and other stuff I had no interest in. A few customers were straying through the shop; the only salesman present was sitting behind his desk, wearing a rather bored look and occasionally glancing at the display before him.

I approached him with "Is the game _Alea Iacta Est_ available?"

He looked at me suspiciously "No, it is not yet released, I can put you on the waiting list, if you want"

"No thanks, you´ve got some comparable stuff instead?" _"I hope they´re still using this shit; otherwise I`m just getting myself into some trouble right now"_

The salesman inspected the battle gear and the weapons I was wearing before giving me a skew smile and lowering his voice to answer my question "Well Sir, if you´re in need of some stuff like that you are wearing, I can arrange that shortly."

Lowering my voice likewise I specified my request "Armour devices and upgrades, if you got some special stuff beside the standards, also weapons."

"Please wait, I`ll be back in a minute" He dissolved into a backdoor behind his desk.

I pretended interest in some of the gadgets near the desk and waited, he emerged only two minutes later, "Here is your warranty receipt, Sir, we will inform you when it has been repaired" handing me a piece of paper with a handwritten note on it telling me the place and time of my _meeting_.

"Thank you, I hope it won`t be too long" With this I left the shop heading for the indicated point for my meeting but taking some diversions _"Let´s have a look at this particular place, last time I met with these guys all went fine, but this was some time ago."_

I reached the place from the opposite side the direct route from the shop would have taken me a couple of minutes before the due time. Using the shadow of a rusty balcony as cover I had a closer look on my surroundings. _"At least two of them, a turian and a human, the latter one looks familiar, ok then, let´s see where this gets us."_

I emerged from my cover, placing myself in front of the indicated building, the turian slowly headed in my direction, passing by closely while whispering "Follow me". His human fellow followed shortly behind us, keeping an eye on his surroundings. As he perceived my knowing gaze in his direction he gave me a curt nod, acknowledging my awareness of him.

We moved through several less crowded streets before the turian stopped in front of a backdoor to an old warehouse. He opened the door and invited me to enter the building "I hope you find what you are looking for, our tech specialist awaits you inside".

I nodded my thanks while entering the building, following a filthy corridor emerging into a vast quadratic room filled with military equipment of all kinds and origins. Another turian clad in the clothes of a technician awaited me, quickly inspecting my battle gear. "Welcome stranger, if you don`t mind we leave out the personal introduction and go straight forward to business."

I gave him a curt nod "That's fine with me. I'm preferably interested in armour upgrades and – if available – weapons not of the rack."

"I was informed about that, so let`s see what we have here. Looks like the light Colossus Armour mark IX, improved kinetic shields and some extra ammo containers attached to the legs. Something else of importance?" He summarized his investigation of my armour.

"You've got a pretty good eye there, only the visor I'm using in combat is of additional interest, a Treyarch TVX Mark IV".

"Mark IV? Well, the Treyarch is quite a good one, I can offer you the Mark V, but the improvement would be a only minor; a somewhat faster tracking device and a more precise motion tracker than your Mark IV. Regarding your choice of armour and visor you prefer a sniper rifle as main weapon?" He asked in return.

"Yeah, that's my best friend, for closer engagements I've got a Phalanx and a Shuriken"

"As a sniper it is always useful to stay out of attention, may I ask how much you intend to spend today, maybe I have an interesting proposal for you, absolutely new stuff, military development, not available on the free market, but, as you can imagine, quite expensive." He glanced at me inquiringly.

"My budget depends on the case, let me say that we're not talking about numbers with five digits if the offer is interesting enough" I replied circumventing an exact answer to his question, not willing to give away a possible initial price for a bargain.

"Fair enough. Well then, I am talking about a cloaking device which will be embedded in your armour. It allows you to vanish from sight by projecting your current environment surround you. An attentive pursuer will be able to see you as a blur or a haze in the form of your body, in darker areas or poor light you are almost invisible. The only drawback is the short duration of the cloak due to the high amount of energy needed without compromising the kinetic barriers. If you are moving you will have 6-8 seconds before the cloak collapses, without movement it will hold up to 30 seconds. Shooting or close combat quickly leads to a collapse, regardless the time, not to mention being hit. As I said, this is brand new military technology, no chance to get it on the free market. Not all armour types can be equipped with it, but your Colossus Mark IX certainly meets the requirements" He explained his proposal in detail, raising his brow in question.

"Sounds intriguing, 6 seconds are a lifetime for a skilled sniper to emerge from cover, lock onto a target, place a headshot and get back into cover. How much will this affect my budget?"

"Well, as I said, rather expensive, 225000 Credits including installation to your armour" he replied, seemingly curious for my reaction.

"Wow, that's certainly not a cheap one, but first let's see what else you may have in stock for me." I answered trying to keep my surprise hidden.

The turian smirked at me "Not talking about odds and ends here, are we? Talking about big things, reminds me of an M-98 Widow currently on stock, interested?

"I gave it a try once, way to heavy and nearly impossible to fire it without a rack attached to it. `Will break your arm when firing without it unless you are Krogan." I denied shaking my head.

"There are possibilities to reduce the recoil, but it stays a very heavy weapon best suited for defensive positions where you don't have to move." He nodded his acknowledgement "But maybe I`ve got another interesting offer for you. As a sniper I guess you prefer accurate weapons, maybe you want to replace your Shuriken with another SMG, wait a second."

He exited the room through a door in the back of it only to emerge a few seconds later, carrying a firearm of a distinctive shape I immediately identified as an M-12 Locust, a weapon I always tried to acquire, but never managed to actually get one. I hoped to hide my amazement well enough, accepting the weapon as the turian handed it over to me "An M-12 Locust, be sure you won`t be able to dig out a more precise weapon on full-auto than this one."

I checked to weapon for any damages, allowing myself a skew smile "You care if I test this one?

"It is in perfect condition, I can assure you, but there`s no harm in firing some rounds in our _sparring room_ as we call it, follow me". He grinned, recognizing my amazement behind the facade.

We entered another vast room, half the size of the previous one, at the backside a couple of targets in different sizes were mounted along the wall. Hundreds of holes and craters decorated the wall where shots had gone amiss.

"Have fun" the turian simply said with an invitational gesture towards the wall, immediately leaving the place after I entered.

"_Let`s see if this baby's reputation is well earned" _Switching the trigger to single-fire mode I loosened a couple of shots while standing about 30 metres away from the targets. Not a single round hit the wall, most of them finding the bull`s eye. _"So far the same as my Shuriken, let's add some reality"._ Switching the trigger to full-auto I started a duck and run alongside the room, reloading three times during the trail.

The turian entered the room, applauding my performance "Quite a display of accurate fire, I should show this to my Krogan companion, he won`t hit a Klixen on 20 metres, well, unless he gets hungry though"

I gave him a broad grin. "Love it." While inspecting the targets which now displayed some statistics, I tried to figure out the Locust' worth. "Well then, assuming you will exceed my budget with that one in addition to the cloaking device, give me a price for both, and be gentle, please"

"What about 290k for both, that is a discount of 20k on the weapon" He gave me a skew smile while looking at the Locust in my hand "Kind of a symbiosis the two of you, eh?"

"That exceeds my budget for sure, what about 240k, a considerable amount of money, and it won`t leave me a poor man-at-arms." Placing my first bid, already knowing that this wouldn`t be enough.

"You perfectly know that I cannot abate that much, same as you know that 290k was a little too high. Let`s cut it to the roots instead: 255k, accept it or leave it, unless you decide to take only one of the items in question." He stated.

I contemplated the offer, calculating my current reserves. _"255k is a fucking lot of money, but this cloaking device is too tempting not to mention the Locust."_

With a wry smile on my lips I accepted the offer "255k is fair enough, we have a deal then. How long does it take you to install the cloaking device?"

"Just a few hours, I can do that right away if you like, while you arrange the financial side with one of my companions. Let me arrange that while you get out of your armour" With that he left the room, presuming my acceptance.

"_Sounds as if my shopping __tour comes to a quick ending, I better be off for the lodge after this, otherwise I`ll completely exhausting my reserves. Anyway two great additions, didn`t expect to find something worth my money on the first occasion"_ I quickly got rid of my armour, feeling vulnerable in my underwear, waiting for the turian to return.

A couple of minutes later he came back, handing an overall to me "Take this while waiting for your armour, you don`t have to be embarrassed by sitting around in your underwear." He smirked at me. "My companion will be here in about 90 minutes, he has some other business to address beforehand. You can accompany me if you wish until he arrives." With that he took several parts of my armour and left the room again.

I quickly donned the overall and picked up the remaining armour parts, heading after him.

"Over here" he called from a room besides the _sparring room_ as he had called it.

Entering the room I placed my load on the desk where the rest of it was piled already. "Here's the rest, I'm curious how the device is installed to the armour".

"It consists of a multitude of small parts which are flexible enough to be embedded below the plating of your armour. The centrepiece is the calculation device which is installed in the armours' core component." He showed me several pieces of the device, starting to arrange my armour at the desk.

We were talking some gossip while I waited for his companion and watching his skilful treatment of my armour "Why do you work for such an organization, with your skills you would be able to find an engagement elsewhere in a place with a higher average lifetime" I queried him besides a mostly insignificant but entertaining conversation.

He gave me a side glance accompanied by a smirk "The higher the risk, the higher the profit, and besides, a respectable work simply doesn`t pay off on the long run. Think about the price you just paid for this equipment, you think you would be able to afford it on a normal soldiers or technicians salary?"

I`m sure I wouldn`t, I pretty much know the average soldiers' wage, you can barely afford a decent life of it." I admitted his reasoning.

"There you go, and that's why I'm here. I'll stick to that for a couple of years from now and then retire on a decent planet of my choice" he told me while attaching another device below the armour plating.

"I must admit, I fear when it finally comes to that" a third voice added. A human of small stature entered the room, wearing an aura of self-confidence, his grey eyes issuing a piercing glance while approaching me. "He's my best technician, will be hard to replace him on this pisshole."

He offered me a handshake which I accepted "I was informed you bought some equipment and the amount is too high to be paid in cash, so should we settle this while your gear gets upgraded or do you want to stay and watch?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I've seen enough to be sure my armour is in good hands, so let's settle the affair right away" I replied while returning his gaze.

"So be it, please follow me, I've already arranged everything you just have to provide the details and we'll be done quickly". He stated before turning around and leaving the room.

The deal was settled quick and anonymous, after a short small talk the man left and I returned to the turian, who had nearly finished his work on my armour in the meantime. "Nearly done, gimme another five minutes and we'll be ready to give it a go." He told me when I entered the room.

A few minutes later he was ready as he had promised. "Ok, I activate the device now, only the breastplate will be affected currently, because the other parts are not connected yet" While saying these words the breastplate vanished on the desk, leaving only a haze the shape of it in the bright light of the working desk. "As I said in bright light you will be visible for an attentive eye, especially when moving, but it's quite astonishing anyway."

I was still looking in amazement at my armour, as the haze flickered and the shape returned to normal vision _"Will be quite a surprise for an enemy not used to it, at least for the moment"_. "I must admit I'm impressed even while knowing what should happen"

He gave me the equivalent of a broad grin on a turian face "Didn't see it live yet, only on some vids, so you see me impressed, too. I assume you want to test it yourself, so jump into your armour and we give it a go."

I quickly got rid of the overall and assembled my armour "How do I activate it while wearing the armour?"

"Have a look at your Omni-tool; there must be a new icon available, see it? But wait, you said you're using a Treyarch visor? 'Guess I can update the software so you will be able to activate the device with it." He explained while showing me the icon on my Omni-tool.

"Sounds perfect" I replied while fetching my visor from the other equipment I brought with me, handing it over to him.

"Thanks, should be only a few minutes to go now" he said while taking and attaching it to a terminal besides the desk. "You can test the cloaking device in the meantime".

I activated the kinetic shields of my armour and headed for the sparring room. A couple of minutes later when the turian brought me the visor I still trained the use of the cloaking device, recognizing the short delay of quarter a second when activating it. "This will need some proper training, it gives you a feeling of dizziness if you can't see your own limbs while moving. Got to get used to it first." I told the turian.

"That was to be expected, but I'm sure you will be able to accomplish that having in mind your outstanding body control you displayed with the Locust." He said while handing me over my visor. "Try it, I installed the update and configured your visor to display a small icon on the lower left corner, you can rearrange it yourself to another place if needed."

Activating the device by using the visor I immediately felt more comfortable with that solution "Not necessary, it's perfect where it is, rounds the whole thing up."

"Job done then, you're ready to leave if you wish." He offered me a handshake, which was unusual for a turian. I guessed he had remembered that particular behaviour while his companion approached me. "It was nice to meet you, stranger, and good luck with your new toys, I'm sure they'll come in handy." He concluded assuming that I am satisfied with his work.

"Yeah, I'm sure about that, too. Thank you for the good work, and also good luck with your retirement, don't elongate your stay on this station too long, sooner or later it will hunt you down." I returned his words in kind.

"Will keep that in mind, stranger, unfortunately you speak the truth about this station, one hell of a place to live in, you should be happy to leave it as soon as possible." He replied nodding his head.


	3. High stakes

**High stakes**

With that I left the warehouse, emerging on a street less crowded now. _"The day, or whatever they call it, is coming to an end as it seems, I'll be better off for my room then."_  
>Heading back to the lodge using a different way than before, always keeping an eye on my surroundings I realized that I was being followed <em>"At least one, but I'm pretty sure he is not alone. Maybe I should use my new toy to surprise him, sooner or later they will attack anyway, I'm better off keeping the initiative on my side."<br>_I abandoned the main street using a small by-road which was badly lit and quickly hid behind a huge pile of rusted metal scrap about 15 metres away from the junction. The stench of this place almost made me gag, the distinctive smell of burned flesh mingled with the usual odour and presented itself as a mind-numbing_ perfume_.  
>I fixed my attention to the entrance of the street through some gaps in the bulk and prepared my Phalanx; on point blank range the effect would be devastating if necessary. The hulky shadow of my pursuer – a batarian by the looks of his shape – appeared at the entrance to my hideout, suspiciously looking into the dull darkness of the by-road.<br>He slowly moved forward looking anxiously in every corner as if expecting an ambush. _"My new toy comes in handy sooner as expected"_ I wondered when activating the device right before the batarian sneaked around the pile of metal I hid behind, his face wearing a look like he half expected to find me waiting behind it.  
>Casting a last look into my corner he moved forward, already concentrating on the next possible hideout. <em>"Well, first field test successful, he couldn`t see me just one metre away because of the dull light. Now for the prize."<em>  
>I surged behind him, re-emerging as the cloaking device needed to recharge. "Stay where you are, one movement and your brain will add up to the already delicate decorations of this place. Speak now, and be quick, why are you following me and who sent you" I commanded him while placing the muzzle of my pistol on the back of his head. He stopped moving instantly, issuing a surprised gasp.<p>

"You are even better than your reputation, human. I'm impressed and I see now why my boss wants to speak with you." He finally managed to issue an answer.

"And why should I be interested to speak with your boss, the reason may be important for your healthiness, so think careful before answering" I urged him further while slightly changing my angle in order to keep an eye on the by-roads entrance.

"He wants to offer you a job, the reward would be substantial, I can assure you."

"What I call substantial is of my own business, but that doesn't answer why you are following me instead of approaching me directly" I retorted sharply.

"He wants me to give you my communication device, so he can explain everything to you, may I?" With that he slowly moved his hand to the side of his head, removing a small device and handing it over his back.

I plugged the device into my ear "The explanation is better to be a good one; else you just managed to make yourself a foe of the dangerous kind."

A gentle but distinctive voice answered my threat "Consider it as a test, which you passed with flying colours. I wanted to know if you are as good as your reputation, you outranged my expectations."

"Ok then, if the classes are over now, I`m all needles and pins to hear the reason for this." I retorted, still anger in my voice.

"Please, Mr Carlyle, I hope you understand that I cannot take the risk to talk over an unsecure communication device, you know that pretty well without me telling you this. I would like to meet you this evening in person, the poor wretch you still keeping in check will bring you to our meeting right now, if you decide to accept my invitation, of course." The distinctive voice said with a soothing undertone which had no real effect on me besides fuelling my anger even more."

"_On the other hand, I`m partially here to look for a job, so why not taking the chance, I can refuse __as always." _Calming my anger I answered his invitation "Very well then, I accept your invitation, I`ll hand back the device to your messenger as you named him."

With that I gave the device back to the batarian, cutting off the answer. "Turn around slowly; you can take your hands down now. Here`s the device, you will go forward, I'm following you in some distance." I advised him, taking down my pistol.

He turned around slowly, plugged the communication device back in its place and nodded his agreement to my conditions "Follow me then, it`s only a 10 minutes walking distance from here"

I followed the batarian with some distance, carefully inspecting everything around me for possible dangers _"Could be a trap, but what for? Seems I'm getting a little paranoid lately. No big surprise here as well. With madness on my heels closing in…you have to keep running…but it seems I'm loosing this one, slowly but certain."_

Deep in gloomy thoughts I suddenly realized the batarian had stopped turning around and waiting for me.

"Here we are, please enter this pub and go to the far left corner, you will be expected." He advised me, with a curt nod he walked away seemingly relieved to get away from me.

"_I scared this one quite a bit"_ chuckling at the thought, I turned around and entered the indicated pub. It was surprisingly clean, at least by the standards of Omega. The floor was made of square metal plates and recently had seen some kind of cleansing. The room itself had a quadratic layout, with the bar cutting the area in two, forming an U-shape. A quick sweep over the pub's guests informed me, that my host wasn't alone, I counted at least 4 guests which made me suspicious _"At least this is not an intelligence service, these 'agents' are obviously not used to hide themselves in a crowd."_

I once made a job for such an organization, if I have a choice in it, it would stay the first and the last time. Moving through the guests I got a glimpse of my host, a dark-haired human male sitting with his back to me. I sat down opposite to him with my back to the wall. He was about 50 – at least he looked like it by the old standards – his dark hair cut shortly, with a little grey at his temples, his well-shaped face wearing a calm expression. All-in-all he made the impression of a neat and decisive man whom you can trust. _If they start to clone politicians, he`s surely a candidate to be reckoned with."_

"Well, here I am" I said bluntly.

Ignoring my harsh opening, he gave me smile which didn`t reach his eyes "Welcome Mr Carlyle, I am glad you followed my invitation. I am sure you have a lot of business to address, so I will make it as short as possible."

I recognized the distinctive voice from the communication device, so it was seemingly the same person who addressed me now. "This is appreciated, thank you. I was told you have a job offer with a substantial reward, whatever that means. Before you go on, I want to say that this conversation is subject to a condition: Everything you tell me is confidential. I am saying this because I may have a reputation in my profession, but I am also known for denying a job if it does not fit into my concept of morality. This may sound like double standards considering the way I am earning my money, but it is not up for discussion. If I say no, I simply don`t want to have something to do with it. I`m pretty aware that there are others whose conscience is determined by the prize, and if I don`t accept a job others will. But this doesn`t mean I am going to interfere unless I am forced to take sides. If you accept this, you can go on."

"Kind of a speech, you prepared there." He replied with another smile "I am aware of your reputation, so this was to be expected and is accepted likewise." He moved on "First of all, are you aware of the balance of power on this station?"

I pondered upon this question and it`s possible meaning. "Yes and no. I know that Aria T`Lok is the unofficial leader, but besides I don`t have much of a clue, it simply never interested me on my short visits."

"Then let me say that there are a lot of different groups or associations which struggle to climb up the ladder of power. Like a never-ending war without a winner, the only one unchanged is Aria. She controls all of them by playing this game better than all the others. And because they are occupied with each other nobody dares to challenge her position." He made a short pause, in expectation of a question or a comment from my side. As I remained silent he moved on. "Well, my client wants to change this balance to his favour, and you could be the one who tips the scales." Again he made a pause, waiting for me to address a question or a comment.

This time I met his expectation. "I can see where this ends, and I will have to think about it, but please proceed."

He nodded and moved on. "Well, as you may have already imagined my client wants to hire you to assassinate Aria T`Lok, this will give him the opportunity to assimilate her organization and control the station. Such an undertaking will be very dangerous as you can imagine, but you can rely on the support of his organization and state-of-the-art equipment at your disposal. The reward is 900k in credits, in addition to this you can keep the equipment, medical treatment – if necessary – is covered likewise. As I see it, this is your chance to ascend to another level in your profession." He concluded with his version of a winning smile.

I waited a few seconds before my reply. "I must admit, this is a substantial reward, but I have to ask anyway, why me?"

He kept up the winning smile while answering my question "As mentioned earlier, we`ve made our homework. Your reputation as an assassin is outstanding, furthermore you are reliable und fully committed to a job once you accepted it, to sum it up, you simply do the necessary.

"Thanks for all the flowers, you`re offer is rather tempting, but I have to think about it before making a decision, and the position it will possibly move me into. I`ll give you an answer tomorrow morning if this fits into your schedule, how can I contact you?"

A longer silence followed my request, finally he spoke again "I would prefer an immediate answer, but I also understand you need some time to make a decision. You can contact me by calling this number." He handed me a plain card with his contact details. "I trust in you to keep this conversation confidential." With that he rose from his seat, offering me a handshake.

I stood up likewise, returning his gesture. "You can trust in that, as you said, my reputation speaks for me. Tomorrow morning you will have your answer."

I walked out of the pub, my thoughts racing. _"This is certainly not what I expected, but I already know the answer, it is no. Aria holds a more or less stable government over this station; by means she keeps all the other organizations in check. She is doing this since far over 100 years, so she has quite some practice in it. If I would remove her from the throne, a succession war between the other clans would be the result. I`d rather accept that it is bad enough with Aria, instead of replacing her with an unknown being and outcome. To tell him my decision would have put me into immediate danger, for all the good words about my reputation they won`t take the risk of a loose end in such an undertaking. The conclusion is, I have to leave immediately tomorrow."_ I was sure they would follow me and already knew my lodge and room. For this reason I decided to head for the lodge immediately instead of visiting the docking areas for ships scheduled to leave tomorrow.


	4. Expect the unexpected I

**Expect the unexpected – part I**

Making my way back to the lodge my thoughts were still racing, I struggled to keep an eye on my surroundings but couldn't keep up my attention. I had covered two thirds on the way back to my destination, as someone put a hand on my shoulder and tried to turn me around gentle but assertive. Adrenaline fuelled my veins instantly; cursing myself for being inattentive I spun around while moving away from the possible attack, luckily without hitting someone else. I stopped in the movement of reaching for the heavy pistol as I recognized that my opponent turned out to be the familiar face of a Krogan mercenary.

"Still playing the old scary, don't you?" His deep and rumbling voice easily drowned the noise level of the crowded streets. "I said to Sha'lea that I know this particular human ass when I saw you going by" He added with the Krogan equivalent of a smirk.

I needed a few seconds before I regained my composure completely. "Gatok! Sorry man, you just caught me unaware, I never thought I would say this, but I am happy to see your scarred Krogan face." I finally answered with a grin.

"What are you doing here, little human, seeking for a way to waste your money? Perfect playground, I can assure you. You'd like to join us for some time, we're sitting in a pub close by?

"The whole crowd then, isn't it? Would be glad to see you again, so count me in."

The "whole crowd" was actually a group of three mercenaries who teamed up permanently, building a small but powerful team. They had hired me several times in the past if they needed long-range firepower for an assignment. The even had asked me once if I would like to join their team permanently, what I had refused, preferring to stay alone, but I always liked to stay around these guys for some time. I won't use the term friends but they were as close to this as a relationship between mercenaries can get.

"Then let's go, the others didn't believe me it was actually you I've spotted" He turned around and I followed him into the pub where Racen, the turian member of the group waited.

"Old Gatok still has his moments, didn't believe him when he said it's you Gray, nice to see you, buddy, how you're doing lately?" He greeted me with a handshake, his face wearing a grin.

"Hi there Racen, can't believe I met you in this mess of a station, what a lucky coincidence! So, where's Sha'lea?"

"Right behind you, my favourite human youngling." Her melodious Asari voice whispered close to my ear as she appeared from behind me and set the tray she was carrying on the table. She gave me a tender kiss on my cheek. As she moved back, her eyes where fixed on mine, her hand softly touching my other cheek "Still this ever-present sadness in your eyes, of all things I hoped to see when we meet again, this was not part of it." She said with a soft and gentle voice, so the others wouldn't hear it.

I had to fight back the overwhelming urge to release the brooding emotions behind my mask of composure. "And your attentiveness and awareness still touches me, but some wounds cannot be healed."

She sighed at my answer. "I still hope you will find salvation in your life before your search for it will destroy you. But let us not speak of this anymore, this is a fight you seemingly want to engage alone." She turned around to the other two mercs of her team who had attentively watched the private conversation.

Sha'lea astonished me each time we met in the last years _"It will be always a mystery to me how a woman can be both such caring and attentive and deadly like a cobra."_ Sha'lea was a former Asari commando, deadly both with weapons and her impressive biotics. Racen was the technician of the group and Gatok, well Gatok was a Krogan, no need to explain that in detail.

We all sat down at their table and Sha'lea shared the drinks she had brought. "I brought you a Whisky, the real stuff, no artificial bullshit, to quote you." She handed me the glass with a smile. "Let's share a drink and remember the good old times, if such a thing exists."

We all sipped at our drinks, and Sha'lea opened the conversation. "So tell us, what are you doing on this slime ball?"

"Nothing special, just bought some new equipment down at the markets and see if there's an interesting job. I heard you had a pretty little dogfight with some pirates all along with news you are heroes now." I replied now wearing a grin.

"Not that story again, I'm sick of telling people that is was an accident." Gatok's voice rumbled. "We just happened to be in the middle of the attack ya'know. It ended up in a close combat in their ship, was a good fight after all."

"What Gatok wants to express is, we actually didn't help the people but were not intrigued by the idea of being a slave." Sha'lea added with a smile in Gatok's direction.

"Just what I said then, scruffy idiots they were, 'wiped them out in dozens." Gatok stated.

"And all that heroes and bravery shit, well, after the fight – in which only two civilians died – we were immediately surrounded by all these news agents and their cameras. The rest you know from the video." Racen finished the story.

"Quite impressive anyway, if nothing else it has brought you some publicity, which is not the worst thing considering job offers. So, why are you here, at least Sha'lea always hated this place, a feeling I share by heart."

"We're just got paid for an extended contract over three months, plenty of money to spend right now." Sha'lea explained with a smile. We will stay another week looking for a new assignment, otherwise we're planned for Ilium."

"Ilium is more or less the same like Omega, but the look & feel is extensively better." I answered with a smirk. "Seems you all do well by the looks, any news on your side except the 'saviour of the colony' stuff?"

"Racen has discovered his weak side, he has a girl out there, fucking serious the whole thing if you ask me." Gatok stated.

Racen snorted. "Thanks for the kind introduction, you're all to charming as always. Nevertheless he is right, I'm actually thinking about settle down somewhere, earned enough money to make a decent life with it."

"And giving up all the fun we have! For a girl! Sha'lea will drive me nuts if you're not there to stop her bugging me." Gatok exclaimed, clearly upset by the prospect.

"Let's see who's first in getting nuts on the other, won't take a bet on myself, that's for sure." Sha'lea snickered.

_There she may be right, without Racen as mediating element between those two, this won't last long." _Keeping my thoughts to myself I preferred to ignore the teasing and addressed Racen. "That's great news Racen, I hope the two of you will make it."

"Thank you Gray, I'm still struggling with the decision, it's not easy to give up what you're used to, and – I must admit that – what you like, at least for most of the time."

"If I may give an advise: Enjoy and respect the time you have, don't take it as granted." My voice was grave at saying this, resembling my deep buried regrets about exactly that particular fact.

"In this you are right, and you seem to be very serious about it." Racen replied with a stern expression.

Sha'lea touched my arm again and said with a hushed voice. "For the first time I'm beginning to understand where all this grief is coming from, you never mentioned a word about it before."

As our eyes met the well of unwanted emotions inside me opened up again, this time I couldn't prevent my eyes from watering, just two drops, but enough to confirm her words.

Racen seemingly saw them too because he dropped the matter, changing the topic. "Enough of me for now, you've got some interesting tales to recount?"

"_I'm falling apart, these attacks come in __too often lately, and without a warning. It is about time to stop that, for better or for worse…"_

Returning my attention to Racen, I came up with a tale about my latest assignment, the assassination of a slaver in the Argus Rho Cluster. The job itself was nothing special, but his business model was worth telling the story. "My target used to sell slaves and organized to steal the same slaves again for reselling. Of course not all the time but often enough that some of his clients got suspicious. I must admit it felt good to place a bullet in his head. I would have preferred to do the same to my client, these slavers don't deserve anything but vengeance of the worst kind."

"You're still trying to make the galaxy a better place, don't you? Better give up on that, won't make you happy." Racen stated.

"It is not happiness I'm searching for, it is oblivion."

An unpleasant silence followed my grave statement, finally Sha'lea broke in. "Gray, oblivion is a false friend, finding it means loosing who you are or – even worse – loosing your life."

"If that's what it takes, I'm willing to pay the price." I lowered my gaze, knowing how my words must sound to them.

"You seem to be very certain that there is no other way for you to tread, maybe you will find salvation instead of oblivion, but there's only hope if you believe in that." Sha'lea commented with sorrow in her voice.

"You all seem to be worried about my current state of mind, and I am thankful for this. Everything's got worse since we last met, somehow I am reaching a culmination point. I don't believe in anything any more, a certain event some years ago eradicated all hope in me."

"So you walk alone your self-destructive path to oblivion. Well, it's your life. All I can do is to renew our offer to join our group permanently. Maybe it helps you, maybe not, it is your decision.

Gatok and Racen nodded their approval silently, both wearing a stern expression. _"Is it time for a change? Is it time to try something else than running away which obviously doesn't work out? Is it time for a last attempt to save myself?"_

"I am unsure, on one hand, it is worth a try, on the other hand I swore myself to avoid under any circumstances implicating someone else in my personal version of hell."

"Again, it is your decision, and you don't have to answer then and there, take your time."

"Thank you for the offer, I promise to put some thought into it, maybe it is time for a change."

Racen answered this time. "Take your time, we will be here for roughly a week more, but you can contact us anytime, you already have the details."

A short silence followed, this time it was me who broke it. "Like another drink? This time it's on me."

"Count me in, I definitively need something after all this serious stuff." Gatok said relieved to leave that topic behind him. At the end he was a Krogan, it was not easy for him to understand the moods and behaviour of other species. The two others just nodded on my offer for another drink. I fetched the tray and went for the bar.

We spent another two hours talking about 'the good old times'. As Gatok started to recount old stories of times before they teamed up Racen issued a deep sigh. "Here we go again, it is about time to run, if you ask me."

Sha'lea giggled on his comment. "You should consider that particular option Gray, once he's getting warm there's no escape, we certainly know what we're talking about."

Gatok didn't even seem to recognize their teasing, he just moved on, completely consumed by his own glory. "…and then Gray, you won't believe it,…"

"Will he recognize if we just bail out then and there?"

"If all of us stand up and go I assume he will recognize it, he isn't drunk enough yet to give it a go right now, so we need patience and more drinks." Racen replied chuckling.

"Do you listen to me, Gray?" Gatok asked suddenly, somehow the fact that we had a conversation of our own had intruded his mind.

"Well, I already know this particular story, you told it to me two years ago on Antagon, remember?" It was a lie, but a kind one, we actually were on Antagon, but I never had heard that story, or maybe he had told it and I had forgotten it.

"Really? Ok then, what about that one." He exclaimed full of enthusiasm.

"Come on Gatok, get us another drink, I'm pretty sure Gray had his share of your old stories already, let's talk about something we don't know, for example tomorrows weather forecast." Sha'lea said with her sweetest "How to tame a Krogan battle master" voice.

"Ok I see, you're younglings are not interested in the knowledge of an old veteran, I go for the drinks." With that he went off for the bar.

"Is he seriously pissed off now?" I asked the two of them.

"He will have forgotten it by tomorrow, don't worry. He's not the resentful guy, whether this is because of his bad memory or a character trait I don't know, maybe a mixture of both." Racen answered still chuckling.

"After this drink I'm heading for the lodge, it is getting late and I need to be up very early tomorrow."

"Why that, you said you are looking for a job in the moment, which presumes you don't have an assignment, you've got some trouble?" Sha'lea glanced at me suspiciously.

"Could be, but I cannot talk about it, let's say I am going to deny an offer, and my possible client won't be amused about that. I am pretty sure he can't afford a loose end, and that's why I'm going to leave as soon as possible."

"Sounds like trouble to me at least, if you need help, we're here." Racen stated.

"Thank you, but this special offer is way above our league, just stay out of the line of fire if you cling to your life."

"Getting worse by the second if you ask me, be careful Gray, I'd like to see you again in one piece." The Asari touched my arm again, her eyes reflecting her concerns.

"I will find a way out, I'm pretty good at that." I assured her wearing a skew smile.

"Well, you did escape old Gatok's stories, not bad for a start." Racen assisted me.

Gatok came back with a new set of drinks, luckily I had insisted on drinking no alcohol past the first glass. _"Would have ended up in a hangover, not the best precondition for my little hide and run task tomorrow."_

We talked gossip for another quarter of an hour before I took my leave. "Ok guys, I have to go, it was great to see you all again, hope we can do that in time again."

They all bid their farewell to me, Sha'lea touched my cheek again, whispering close to my ear. "Look to yourself, and think about our offer, maybe it can help you."

"I will, but first I have to sneak out of the station, find some place to hide for a while and think it all over."

She nodded, stepping back, her bright green eyes expressing her concerns.

I left the pub heading for the lodge, this time determined to avoid any further distractions.


	5. Expect the unexpected II

**Expect the unexpected – part II**

"_What in the name of the goddess should I do to leave this fearful place?" _Flickering thoughts were moving through her head since she had to leave the small freighter whose captain had been "arrested" which meant on this station he was sent into retirement, the permanent one for sure. Fear, anger and unease were rolling through her, left her shivering and searching in vain for a solution. _"With 200 credits I won`t be able to find a ship to another world, regardless how far away, and mercy is an extinct gift in this hellish place, so what now? I won't go and beg my mother to send me some money, not before I tried everything else. But first I have to find a place for the night. If I rent a room somewhere the little money I have will be wasted in a couple of days, so maybe I should try the Afterlife, if they let me in that is…"_ Her mind full of wandering thoughts, a suppressed fear always on the edge of breaking through made her inattentive to her surroundings, so she bumped into the back of a batarian, who had gradually slowed down his pace, maybe to enter one of the shabby establishments along this small street.

He turned around, fearing an attack, already gripping behind his back for a weapon; his two batarian companions did likewise. He looked surprised when seeing the young Asari before him instead of trouble.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I just didn't realize anything around me, being deeply in thoughts. Please, accept my apology." She hastily tried to ease the situation.

The batarians surprised look turned into an uncomforting smile "What do we have here, guys, seems as if our search for some amusement has suddenly come to an end" His companions quickly surrounded her. "Nice one, you found there, or did she found you?" One of the other batarians added chuckling about his own joke.

She fought to regain her composure, but to no avail, frantically looking for some aid, but seemingly she was alone with them _"Don`t scream, don`t run, stay calm, concentrate, concentrate and use your biotics to hold them at bay"_ But she was unable to concentrate on her biotic abilities, her mother never wanted her to get a proper training, so the outcome of her efforts presented themselves as some biotic discharges flickering across her hands.

The first batarian – supposedly the leader of this pack – grabbed her face and forced her to look at him "Stop that, or you will regret it! No one will help you, be sure of that, this is Omega. To make it up to me you will accompany us to our quarters, we surely will have some fun together." He said with desire gleaming in his eyes and a nasty grin on his face.

"Please, let me go, I didn`t cause any harm, I am not that kind of woman" She made a last attempt, but already knew it would be in vain.

…

"_Another ten minutes and I can have a rest and think about a way out of this mess, didn`t expect this trip to consume that much time."_ I decided to shorten my way a little by taking one of the smaller conjunction ways I normally would try to avoid because of the shadows casted by the dim light and the sparse room to move. 30 meters before me a trio of shadows stood around something or someone, nearly blocking the way. _"Stick to your beliefs would be helpful sometimes"_ I thought with a sigh _"If I turn around they will get suspicious, so be it"_ I continued my steady pace, now only 10 meters away _"Perfect, batarians, by the form of their heads, couldn't get worse."_ They were laughing while they concentrated on something in their middle I still couldn't make out. One of them looked in my direction, his gaze turned into a killing glance when he recognized me to be human. Suddenly a melodic but trembling female voice pleaded "Please, let me go, I didn`t cause any harm, I am not that kind of woman". With this I realized the "something" I still couldn't see must be a woman they were threatening. _"Don't get into trouble, that`s not of your business, you should be grateful, most batarians hate humans, but these seem to be distracted enough to leave me alone."_ I moved cautiously past them as one stepped a little aside "Tend to your own business, human" the batarian grumbled while I passed him. While moving by, I could see they held an Asari in hostage, the poor thing being at the edge of panicking while tears streaming down her face

"_3 meters, 5 meters, take another step, move forward, keep yourself out of trouble"_ Another now tearful "Please" followed by nasty laughter interrupted my attempt to lull myself. _"Fuck you very much, I cannot do this"_ With that I turned around on my heels, approaching the small group again "In case your communicator had a malfunction I iterate it for you: She is not interested" crossing my arms before me, I tried to stay at ease while hiding the adrenaline rush I could feel was already building up behind my composed appearance.

The batarians turned around, drawing their attention from the Asari maiden "Didn't I say you should tend to your own business, human, shut up and be gone now, you risk your health while standing there." The seemingly leading war dog hissed at me, his eyes sparkling with hatred while his left hand moved slowly to his backside in preparation to draw a weapon.

"I appreciate your concerns about my health, but I feel pretty fine right here where I'm standing, thank you. I once more ask you politely to let go of your hostage, otherwise you are risking not only your health but your life." I said calmly, but appointed, wearing an unstressed expression I clearly didn't feel like inside _"The cloaking device will come in handy again, second time on the first day, especially in these close quarters, presuming they won't let their prize go, what is almost sure."_ I thought while readying myself for expected attack.

The batarians looked at each other, a little unsure because of my unwavering display of self-confidence and calmness. With a roar the supposed-to-be leader draw his shotgun from behind his back, his companions now drawing their weapons likewise. On his first movement I activated the cloaking device, quickly moved out of the immediate shotgun radius and draw my heavy pistol, activating the armour-piercing ammo. The batarian in front of me gasped in surprise as I vanished from his sight, frantically looking from left to right.

"_4…3…2…" _I counted down the remaining seconds before I would emerge, changing the angle to the first batarian, so their hostage would not be standing between the first two of them and me. In the second the cloak collapsed the muzzle of my Phalanx was an arms' length away from the head of their leader, I breathed out and pulled the trigger two times, the first one shattered his kinetic barriers, the second one covered his companion standing behind him with brain matter and other debris. Both remaining batarians were stunned for a second, time enough to pull the trigger twice again, sending the contents of the second ones head onto the wall behind him. The third batarian who still held the Asari with one arm close to his body fired two bursts with his Shuriken in my direction, managing somehow to let half of his shots go astray in his frantic attempt to avoid his imminent death. My kinetic barriers sustained the hits, going down on 40%. The blinking icon on my visor told me the cloaking device had reloaded and I activated it immediately. Vanishing again before his eyes was too much for him to bear; he hurled the Asari towards my former direction, turned around and started running towards the entrance to the main street I came from in the first place. I caught the Asari before she could crash into me; the impact caused the cloak to collapse, so she cried out in fear as I returned to the visible world only a few inches away from her. She tried to get away from me, her eyes in panic and splashed into the dirt and filth which covered seemingly half of the station.

Moving my view back to the fleeing batarian my visor displayed the distance with 60 meters now "_This son-of-a-bitch is faster than a weasel, but that won`t help him this time"_ I draw my Mantis, releasing my breath while the rifle extended to its full length, took aim at the back of his head and pulled the trigger. The rifle issued its usual humming "Thump" followed by another one a fragment of a second later as my shot found its target; the head of my last opponent seemingly ceased to exist.

I turned around to look for the Asari and found her leaning against the wall next to me; she was shivering, sobbing and continuously murmuring. "Shhh, calm down now, nobody's going to harm you anymore. Please follow me, we have to get away from here before someone recognizes this mess and tomorrow half the station knows who is responsible for it."

She turned her gaze in my direction, her face stained with dirt and tears, her big midnight blue eyes still watering "Why did they do this, I don`t understand, and you, you killed them." She started sobbing again.

I picked up her small bag, the only luggage I could make out for the moment, took her arm gentle but assertive, leading her away in the opposite direction as the last villain had lost his head. I tried to keep an eye on my surroundings, while I lead the Asari as quick as possible away from the battleground. About ten minutes later I stopped in front of a closed shop of a somewhat better appearance than most of the others. "Ok for now, I think we are out of immediate danger. You are a little better now?"

She gave me a startled look, suddenly realizing that we had come to a halt. She tried to focus her thoughts, partially regaining her composure now, still fear flickering in her eyes. "I surely will need some time to swallow this wholly, but for walking it should be enough."

"Ok, then" I replied releasing her arm "Events made me your guardian angel for tonight, so where may I bring you? And before you start to protest, I am insisting on bringing you home safely."

"Home? I don't have a home, at least not on this damned station, I just tried to figure out where to stay for the night when they caught me for their "amusement" as they called it." She answered with a faint of tremble in her voice.

"Hmm, this doesn't make things easier then." I stated while curling the short hairs of my chin beard. "The only thing I can offer you right now is to stay in my room for the night in a lodge nearby."

She eyed me suspiciously, the fear returning to her eyes instantly.

"I know how this must sound to you right now, but you will have to trust me in that. I'm not in for "amusements" I can assure you, speaking of that I simply don't do "amusements recently." My voice fainted at that last sentence; again uninvited memories invaded my perception.

Looking at his face, she recognized a sudden distance in the eyes of her saviour, accompanied by a deep sadness which he seemingly struggled to overcome before his gaze turned back to her. _"Maybe I can trust him, he doesn't seem a bad guy, hell, he just rescued me risking his own life."_ She managed to bring a smile on her face "I trust you in that, please let us go then." He looked at her in surprise, and was apparently relieved by her decision. _"Well then, I don't understand his motives, but his surprise was genuine."_


	6. Serena

**Serena**

"_W__hat the hell I am doing here? I've got enough problems for myself I cannot cope with, this is not the way to make things easier. Tomorrow I will leave this station and she will have the same problem again, and then? I'm a damned fool, shit, I am an assassin, I bloody well know that I endanger her with this"_ Pushing aside these thoughts I moved towards the small lodge, fortunately no one was present on our arrival. Disabling the alarm systems I installed earlier this day, we entered the room, enabling my additional security devices again. "If you want to leave the room, I have to disable these again, please don't forget about that" I told her with a stern expression on my face.

"Ok, I guess I can feel a little safe now with these…well, whatever they are. Not to mention my guardian angel" She stated looking at me with a smirk.

"Some additional warning systems, accompanied by a nice little "I blow a hole in the face of an unwanted guest" device, the latter only engages if someone actually tries to open the door using uncommon methods." I explained my array of tech which was now installed at the door. "And I must say, you look cute when you are genuinely surprised" I added with a wry smile when recognizing her astonished gaze at the only door of my – or better our – room.

She blushed, or at least I think she did, her blue cheeks resembling some darker areas now. "I didn't expect such a detailed and profound explanation. And I must admit your blunt description of what this device actually does, terrified me a little."

"I'm sorry for that, it was actually meant to be a joke, but I guess you are not used to this kind of humour. It is not uncommon between humans; we often use irony when speaking to each other." I replied, really feeling sorry for being so rude to someone who faced death and violence in its ugliest form only half an hour ago – and maybe for the first time in her life.

"Don't mind, you are right, I'm not used to humans and their behaviour, I actually met the first member of your species a few weeks ago." She replied now returning my smile in kind.

Leaving the matter aside I dismounted my armour and weapons, arranging them on the small desk in the corner of the room, the poor thing nearly gave way under the weight. "I suggest you take a shower now, you need it, believe me. Do you have some spare clothes in your bag, or should I try to find something for you, it won't fit, I'm sure about that, but at least it would cover some parts of you." Another wry smile curled my lips while saying this.

"I have some clothes but I would rather spare them for daytime, so if you could afford to lend me something, I would be glad. And you are right, a shower is a good idea, I guess I'm a little, well, dirty." She went to the bathroom and closed the door, only to emerge a few seconds later "I'm looking like a mud-covered slime bowl, why didn't you mention that earlier" she demanded, a stern look on her face.

I couldn't help but laughing out loud, it was too hilarious to see her standing in front of me, dressed to kill and pondering about the dirt on her face. Still laughing, I managed to usher some words "Ok, next time I'll save you from some thugs, I'll inform you beforehand - _Hey, don't worry, I help you, but did you happen to know, just for your information, you're all muddy and that._"

Her stern expression vanished to be replaced by surprise and then she started laughing also "I'm such a fool, it's just, you know, I could have washed my face, so you would have been able to see it."

"Well, as I said, you _need_ a shower"

"But you left out the reason, now I know why." Still smiling she returned to the bathroom.

I used the time pondering what to do with her, especially when I would leave tomorrow as early as possible. _"Somehow I feel guilty to leave her behind in this hell, she won't be able to survive in this place, she is too young, no, not to young, she's possibly older than me, too innocent, that fits better. She obviously never saw such violence, and she is not able to defend herself, what is crucial to survive on this station. So, what now, Mr guardian angel?"_

I was still contemplating about this question when she opened the door just a slit "Did you find something which will _cover some parts of me?"_

"Give me a second" I said while I started to rummage through my clothes, finally coming up with a white T-Shirt of medium size and handed it over to her. "It is not your size of course, but should be sufficient. You need some trousers or anything else?

She took the T-Shirt, donned it, and came out of the bathroom. "No thanks, this one goes for a skirt already." Spinning around once, she sent the shirt flying, revealing a spot of her underwear. "What do you say, fit for the night?"

I couldn't help but grin "Right away, but this spin-around-thing does no good to the _cover some parts of you-_thing, you know."

She blushed again, sitting down on the bed, looking shyly in my direction. I returned the look and for the first time – now that her face was visible - I realized the stunning beauty before me. Her azure skin seemed to glow in the dimmed light of the room; the well-shaped smooth face had an oval form accentuated by distinctive but perfectly matching cheekbones and sensual lips. Most remarkable where her eyes, the intensive midnight blue colour in combination with this well-shaped face was simply breath-taking. I forced myself to look away fearing my stare would insult her.

I quickly picked some clothes and went to the bathroom "My turn now, I am in need of a shower likewise."

"I guess the difference won't be that striking, but I'm sure such an armour will enforce some sweating." She replied with a knowing smile.

"_Perfect, caught in action and guilty. I must have gazed at her like __a 15-year old first timer, next time I should start drooling, just to make sure she actually gets it."_ I chastised myself after closing the door behind me.

While in the shower I tried to come to a conclusion concerning the fact I intended to leave tomorrow morning. _"I have to tell her what I'm going to do and why, of course I have to leave out the details. But I cannot just leave her here…maybe I can pay her a trip to another destination, won't put a big hole in my pocket, and I will have my piece of mind, well at least concerning this topic."_

As I left the bathroom she welcomed me with a smile and immediately continued the conversation "May I ask you some questions?"

"Of course, I have some of my own, but you were first"

Her first question completely dumbfounded me. "First of all, I still don't know your name, it is ok if you don't want to say it, but my name is Serena, Serena Massana."

"Now it is my turn to feel like a complete fool, I seemingly forgot all my manners in the past years, since I'm not used to have company which is interested to know my name. I am sorry for that, but to answer your question, my name is Grayson Carlyle, call me Gray."

"Don't be embarrassed, our first coincidence didn't imply a formal introduction, I still was not sure if you didn't tell me your name yet with intention." She reassured me with a warm smile. "This also counts for the next question I have, and again, if you don't want to tell me, it is ok for me. Why did you help me? I mean, in the first place you walked by, but then you returned and made a stand, risking your own life to protect me."

I pondered upon this question for some time before I answered. "There is no easy answer to this, in fact I don't really know it myself." I made a pause, again thinking about my answer. "In the past years I continually lived a life on the edge, eventually seeking to forget who I used to be. When I approached the trio of them in the first place, I just told myself to stay out of trouble as everybody does on this station. But then I somehow felt if I would just walk away now and leave you to your doom, I will lose the last bit of my former self, loosening the last anchors that hold me in reality." I made another pause in my speech "I must admit, I did not realize this until now." My words left me brooding over this perception, leaving the room in a tensioned silence.

Serena looked at me now sorrowful. "I must admit, that I didn't expect such an answer. I already recognized that there is something hidden behind this self-confident behaviour you present to others, your eyes betraying you in that, there is a deep sadness not far from the surface. It seems there is more to it, than I anticipated. I would like to help you, but I don't know if you will accept whatever help I can offer."

"You already helped me, Serena, more than you can imagine. You reminded me who I used to be in times of my life where I was happy and confident with it. I am a shadow of my former's self now and it will take some time and effort to regain what I've lost. Maybe you can help we with this, time will show. Anyway you are the first person in the last years to whom I talked about this, but for now please don't ask any more. I suppressed five years of grief, denying the truth and trying to forget my past, trying to forget myself. This can't be mended in a single night" I closed my eyes and lowered my head as a few tears spilled down my cheeks.

Serena stood up from the bed, came over to me, and gently removed the tears on my cheeks. I looked up and as our eyes met my raging mind calmed down, as if she had injected a soothing drug into my veins. "Thank you, whatever you just did."

Hey eyes widened in surprise "What did I do? I only removed those tears."

"As you touched me and I looked into your eyes I had a strange sensation, as if you would soothe my mind, calm me down…I can not really describe it, I just feel at ease now." I tried to explain what had happened.

Serena moved back to the bed again, pondering my answer. "I guess you know that we Asari are able to meld with another mind by using our natural biotic abilities, but if this happens, it is intentionally, not by accident. As for the touch, well I don't know about that, maybe it is possible to influence feelings or emotions by that way, but I would have to ask a more experienced Asari concerning this. All I know is the theory, I did not have any practical experience" She concluded, seemingly not satisfied with her own explanation.

"Wait, you said you have no practical experience, which means…" my voice trailed off.

"…I never bonded with another being, yes. You seem rather surprised by this?" She finished my sentence.

"Erm…yes, you know, I don't know how old you are, but as far as I know Asari can reach a thousand years or more, so I guess you are older than me, and a human of my age who never had sex…well, we would call him or her an old virgin." I felt a little awkward telling her this _"Good guy, telling a woman she is an old virgin is a perfect way to drive her off…again the old story…if you don't have a clue better shut up!"_

She laughed at that. "To answer your implicit question, I am 97 years old, for my folks I'm barely an adult, so the fact that I have no sexual experience is not unusual. In your terms, I am an ancient virgin. So, if we already have this topic, how old are you?"

I must have expressed my shock rather explicitly, because she started to laugh again. "97? To humans this is unbelievable; most women would kill to look like you at this age. I'm just 33, but look at me! I won't go for a youngling any more, but you are almost three times my age."

She tilted her head and gave me an answer to think about. "I believe this is difficult to understand for short-lived races like you are, but on the other hand Asari tend to do everything with patience and consideration, which is not bad, but sometimes quick solutions are necessary to survive."

"Never thought about it that way, but I also never had the possibility to talk to an Asari in private" I concluded, glancing at the clock hanging above the bed.

"Let's close this matter now, it is getting late, and if I remember it correctly you also had some questions?"

"Ok then, my turn, the first one is easy: How did you end up here on Omega? I mean, you obviously don't belong here. You are unused to violence which is a daily sight on this station and you wander through dark sideways I'm usually trying to avoid." I started my questionnaire.

Like me before Serena thought a while about the question before she gave an answer. "For reasons I do not want to explain right now, I had to leave my home planet. For the same reasons this had to happen very fast, so I gathered some belongings and the little money I had in reserve and tried to find a ship that would bring me somewhere else." She paused shortly before continuing. "I wanted to reach the Citadel, but couldn't find a direct transfer, so I decided to go for Illium first. From there I found a small freighter whose captain headed for Citadel space, but first he had to take care of some cargo here on Omega, at least that's what he told me. As we arrived here, he told me it would take two days and that I should stay on the ship, for Omega is not a safe place – a reasonable advice as I know now. Well, I could wait for some days, but on the fourth day when we were still in the docking bay I got suspicious. At the afternoon of this day a group of well-armed people came to the ship, as the freighters captain didn't want to open the door, they forced themselves a way in. As they found me I feared the worst, but one of them – a turian – kept the others in check and just told me to catch my luggage and get off the ship, it surely won't leave the station very soon, as the owner had some severe issues with his trade accounts.

I left the ship with all I could gather in the short time they permitted me and went into the station, not knowing where to go and what to do. So I tried to find work somewhere to gather money, because I had spent nearly all of it for the two trips. It seems to me that you have to be either a dancer or a prostitute in order to get a job on this station, anyway after three denials I decided to find a cheap lodge somewhere or try my luck in the Afterlife. On the way to the club I rambled into the batarians, well, you know the rest of the story."

"Yeah I do, quite some bad luck you had there." I commented. "But I am glad I'm not the only one with secrets"

With a sigh I pushed myself to address the next topic. "Serena, the next thing is rather not a question; it is more an explanation of my current situation and some decisions I have to take in the very near future."

She looked at me seriously after this introduction, her eyes showing a glint of fear "Ok then, move on".

"I pondered what I should tell you and what not; at last I decided to be honest. What do you think my profession is?"

"Considering your armour and weapons and the ease with which you wiped out those batarians you are a mercenary or soldier, and a good one I guess, although I cannot really judge this." She answered, giving me another example of her quick comprehension.

"A good guess, and correct if not for one fact, I am a very specialised mercenary, most of my jobs are assassination." I waited a few seconds before moving on. "As you already pointed out, I have a reputation to be good and reliable, but unlike other members of my profession I am also known to turn down a job offer if it interferes with my personal codex."

Her expression was somewhat shocked but composed, as she asked me with a calm voice. "And what may this personal codex be?"

"I only accepted jobs where I had to kill _bad_ beings; at least they were bad by my standards: Other mercs, members or leaders of a criminal organization, smugglers, and so on. And I tried to deny jobs which would cause evil in the aftermath, but this is not always visible at the beginning." I made a short pause again "But anyway I am still an assassin, an evil person myself, waiting for the day that I'm running out of luck."

She ushered a sigh "This is hard to swallow, and, if I may say that, I cannot match the person before me I got to know a little this night with an ice cold killer."

"That is maybe exactly what held me back from leaving you in your misery, the last part of the man I used to be, the ice cold killer would have moved on without a second thought. At least I hope that." I gazed at the floor while saying this.

"I hope so, too. But I feel there is more you want to say" She encouraged me to move on.

"You are right, there is more." I continued my revelations "As I said I am waiting for the day my luck is actually running out, and that day may be tomorrow. Today I was offered a job above my usual level; along with a reward ten times my usual price. I asked for some time to think about it, which was granted, but only to buy me some time, because I will deny it. It would change this whole station unmistakable, possibly causing a full scale clan war, and I don't wanna be the one that pulled the trigger." Again I made a pause.

"But where is the problem then?" She gazed at me now, impatiently waiting for me to move on.

"The problem is, now that they revealed to me their plans and whom they want to see dead, they cannot take the risk to just let me go if I say no…"

"…so you think they will kill you then? She finished my sentence, now wearing true concern on her face.

"Exactly, and that is why I'll try to find a ship early next morning to leave this rock, I'm pretty sure I can fend them off if they really follow me, but I think they won't do. And that brings me finally to the reason of this revelation: You."

"Me? But what does this have to do with me, they are after you, if your suspicion turns out to be true, that is." She said her eyes widened in surprise.

"First of all, they will surely watching me, by means they will have seen you going into the lodge with me. But I don't think they will harm you, rather guessing I wanted some fun. But I cannot be sure, with 80 murders a week on this station, one more doesn't make a difference.

Second, I am pretty sure that this station will consume you in a short time, with no money, no protection no nothing you will end up as a prostitute if you are lucky, more likely you will add up to the 80 murders of next week. For those reasons I would like to pay you a trip to a destination of your choice, and before you protest, it won't ruin me, I can afford it, be sure of that." I concluded and sighed, unsure what she would answer.

She took her time before answering. "You gave me a lot to think about. I am not sure if I really want you to pay me a trip, on the other hand I want nothing more than to leave this cursed place. But I must ask this, even if the question hurts you: Why do you want to do this? Is it because you feel guilty for all the people you killed and now you want to buy yourself some piece of mind by doing something _good_?"

The question surprised me, but considering what I had just told her I should have expected it. "It must be hard to believe me now, but it has nothing to do with piece of mind. All the money in the galaxy couldn't buy me this, it will follow me my whole life. I cannot put a finger on it, but I somehow feel responsible for you, I am not asking for absolution, I just want to ensure that you get of this pisshole."

She looked me in the eyes for some time, finally giving in. "I believe you, and I will accept your offer, but under one condition."

"And that condition is?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I will accompany you to your next destination, wherever that may be" She said with a firm expression.

My eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure you want to roam the galaxy with a professional murderer? And if so, I also must ask the same question to you now: Why?"

"I cannot answer this question, it just feels right in the moment, and maybe I can return that you saved my life by saving yours, literally said at least."

"I am not sure if this is possible after all what I've done in the past years, but you already saved me from becoming the ice cold killer, so who knows – given some time - what wonders you are able to accomplish?"

"We will see, anyway, we need to get some sleep if we want to catch a ship early in the morning. One last thing I want to say: Although you shocked me with your revelation, I appreciate your honesty and I also thank you for my rescue earlier this day. Both are no deeds of a murderer, but rather of someone who cares for others. That is why I don't think of you as a soulless killer but of a being on an ill-fated path." Her amazing eyes were fixed on mine while she said this.

"Again I hope that you are right. I`m following this path for quite some time now, and I am not sure if I can find a way back, if not, be sure to be far away then. But let's catch some sleep now." I stood up and moved to the other side of the bed now feeling how tired I actually was.

"I am sure we will continue this conversation, but for now I need some sleep."


	7. Rollercoaster ride  part I

**Rollercoaster ride – part I**

I woke up earlier than intended as usually, but a look on the clock told me I had at least slept six hours – more than usual. "_No nightmares tonight, you could nearly call it a good night's sleep. The first in weeks actually, I should get an overdose of this mental "Asari drug" she gave me yesterday"_. I glanced at my unexpected guest for the night still sleeping beside me, again marvelling at her breath-taking beauty in relation to the age of 97. _"Don't even think about it Gray, she deserves better than you."_ I stood up as silent as possible and went for the bathroom _"No chance to fall asleep again, so I better use the time, we will need a good share of luck today, and time plays against us."_

When I left the bathroom, Serena awaited me "Good morning, my guardian angel, how do you feel today?" She asked me accompanied by a smile.

"It just got better, seeing a friendly face and furthermore a smile in the morning is a welcome alternation, be careful, I could get used to it." I replied smiling back in kind.

"I will accompany you for at least some days or weeks, so you better…" She was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. I dropped the towel, grabbing the Locust from the table nearby and gave Serena a sign to hide in the bathroom. I moved cautiously beside the door. "Who is it?"

"Please open the door, what I have to say mustn't be heard by the whole place." A male voice answered my question, I couldn't make out what species exactly, because the voice was muffled by the door. _"Maybe my friend from the pub got impatient and wants an answer now, who else knows where I am? Well, I won't find it out by waiting for Christmas" _I disabled the security devices and opened the door just a slit. A short glance outside showed me a turian, his posture was at ease, his features likewise. "Ok then, why are you disturbing me at this time of the day". I queried him, now opening the door a little more.

"I could hear voices inside, so apparently you were awake and also not alone. Anyway, I have an invitation for you." He replied even-tempered, obviously not expecting any trouble.

"I didn't like the first kind of invitation yesterday, this is better now, but we agreed I contact you, not the other way round." I retorted.

At first he looked puzzled at my answer, but then he replied with the same calm expression. "I don't know of another invitation yesterday, I am here to bring you to Aria T'Lok, she wants to speak with you. Maybe the reason is your invitation from yesterday but I don't know, you have to ask her this question."

I couldn't hide my surprise at what he said, but quickly regained my composure. "I intended to leave this station as early as possible, I just started to catch my luggage and head for the docking bays."

"An invitation from Aria is not to be denied, you won't leave Omega if she doesn't approve, be sure of that. Do you come with me now or do I have to carry you down to the shuttle?" Still the calm voice, but now with some threat in it."

"Ok then, I am gathering my luggage, I come with you, but under one condition" I gave in.

He raised an eyebrow – or whatever goes for this on a turians face. "There is no point in making conditions, I won't accept any if they interfere with my order, so what is it?"

"I am not alone, and I don't wanna leave my companion in this lodge, the moment I step out of this building with you they're gonna hunt me, and with that also her." I explained my request.

"I don't see a problem with that, Aria will decide what to do with your companion. So be quick now, Aria is not to be kept waiting."

"Got it, give me a couple of minutes." With that I closed the door, turning around calling for Serena. "You can leave the bathroom now."

She opened the door and looked at me, a worried expression on her face. "Who was it?"

"Well, things just got a lot more complicated. You remember I told you, I was offered a job yesterday, to assassinate someone?"

She nodded with a glimpse of fear in her eyes.

"This someone is unfortunately the uncrowned queen of this station and she just invited me to meet her. If we want to leave Omega we can't do so without her permission, so we have to go." I explained the whole mess to her.

Her face now looked really troubled. "I am invited too? Or do you don't want to leave me here, because your friend from yesterday won't be happy to see you with one of _someone's_ agents?"

"Again your quick comprehension astonishes me, but we're running out of time. Please, get dressed, gather your luggage, we have to get out of here." I begged her.

She sighed. "I won't get out of this anymore, so be it." With that she caught some clothes and returned to the bathroom.

In the meantime I assembled my armour and gathered my few belongings. As Serena was ready too, I opened the door, finding the turian still waiting outside, leaning at the wall. His eyes quickly swept over my armour and weaponry and then Serena. "Faster than expected, I appreciate that." With that he turned for the stairs leading downwards.

As we left the lodge, I almost awaited an ambush, but nothing happened. Suspiciously I scanned the buildings around us for a possible sniper hideout. As I spotted a small flash on the rooftop of a building some 50 meters away, I instantly knew what must follow. "Sniper" I shouted, jumping backwards trying to cover Serena with my body. In that moment the familiar "thump" of a sniper rifle shot broke the silence, missing me by an inch and hitting the ground floor instead. Feeling the adrenaline rushing through my veins time started to blur, I drove Serena back into the lodge.

"Stay in cover" I shouted before I jumped into the cover of the shuttle where the turian cowered. "You could have warned me about those friends of you, didn't expect to pick up such dangerous cargo." He said with a grunt.

"Surprises me likewise, be sure of that. Let's get out of here before the cavalry arrives." In the meanwhile I had my sniper rifle ready and activated the cloaking device, moving out of cover and focussing on the balcony with the rifles telescope. _"5…4…3… where is this son-of-a-bitch? _My opponent emerged from cover, searching for a target. _"1…got you"_ In the moment the cloak collapsed I pulled the trigger, scoring a headshot. "Job done, time to leave."

The turian nodded curtly. "Nice one, especially this little trick, but let's not waste time now, I guess we're in for some more fun."

"Serena, you can come out, please, hurry up!" I shouted as I picked up our luggage. We quickly mounted the shuttle and took off.

Serena was sitting in the rear, obviously shocked, she shivered a little, her face a mask of fear. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, at least physically. If this will happen now every day I might get used to it in a couple of years" She answered with an afflicted smile.

"I am sorry for all that, seems I brought you out of the frying pan into the fire." I said conscience-stricken.

The turian who had been silent until now interrupted our conversation. "I'm sorry to interrupt you two love-birds, but it seems we've got some company. Two shuttles are on our heels, and by the looks they are armed." With that he pushed the thrust to full speed and slid around a corner. "Could get a little rough, all the while. Take the com unit and report our current situation, ask for reinforcements." He added after he regained full control over the shuttle, his voice was still calm while saying this.

I did as ordered and got an immediate answer. "All right, we're on our way, hang in there, only a few minutes."

I glanced at the turian. "Is this vehicle armed, can I help somehow?"

"We've got a single assault rifle on a hidden turret for rear cover fire, unfortunately I won't be able to fly on full speed while aiming at the same time." He answered while skidding through another curve. "They're still closing in, must be some sort of speeders. Open this panel in front of you and activate the rifle, the HUD is rather small so actually hitting something won't be easy, but if you can keep them off for a while, would be charming." He explained in a rush, now a little out of breath.

A second later the shuttle was hit hard in the back, the impact causing a wailing sound as the bullets ricocheted from the rear armour. The shuttle shivered and slithered, the turian frantically tried to regain full control, finally sending us into another breath-taking bend, this time colliding with a protruding metal conduit, sending it flying along with some patches of the vehicles' ground armour. "Getting tougher now, hope our reinforcements are on the way." He commented with a grunt.

I finally managed to activate the assault rifle controls and issued a few bursts into the direction of our pursuers, without actually hitting something. My intention was rather to show them that we were not just fair game. "With all that rolling around a hit will be pure luck, but maybe we can combine our efforts." Just tell me the next move you're going to do, the direction is enough. So I can try to adapt my fire."

"Sounds like a plan, we…" He was cut off as our pursuers scored another hit, this time several layers of the armour went flying. "Shit, a few more of those and we'll be lucky if the engine doesn't send us to hell." Another sharp bent caused one of the speeders that followed us to race past the entrance. "Ok, let's give it a go, now right".

He moved the shuttle into a right sided rolling; I tried to adjust my fire according to the directions he barked now in short intervals. "Got that bastard" I barked with satisfaction.

The speeder behind us now lost speed, issuing a trail of fumes. "Seems you hit something vital, but where is the other one? The turian said while looking at the instruments. The answer came a second later as the other pursuer suddenly emerged from a by-street before us, weapons blazing with fire, he must have used its higher speed to outpace us in the meantime. The assault hit our vehicle hard, causing it to shudder as several layers of the armour were stripped away. A few bullets hit the front panel causing it to fracture. Our driver frantically tried to regain control of the shuttle, handicapped by the lost frontal vision. As we razed along a building he steered the shuttle upwards leaving the cramped space between buildings behind us to prevent a crash. Suddenly the com unit barked "Stay tuned, the cavalry has arrived". Two additional armoured shuttles could be seen closing in from the right. Outnumbered now, the lonely speeder stopped his pursue and turned away in the opposite vector of our reinforcements. Quickly accelerating the speeder lengthened the distance with every second, outclassing the slower shuttles. Our reinforcements turned about, each one on every side.

"Not a second too early, nice to see you, guys!" The turian said into the com unit.

"We simply couldn't bear to lose old' Grizz, what about all the fun we would miss without you? And think about our old lady, she would be obnoxious for at least a week" The voice replied, seemingly in good moods.

The turian issued a snort "I'll give you some fun once we're back, little rookie, be sure of that" He answered with the equivalent of a grin on his face. "Good team play back there and nice shot by the way" He said now turning around to me. "As you may have noticed, the name is Grizz. I think I'm in for a drink now, a pleasure to get your asses out of the line of fire." With that he steered the shuttle downwards.

"Thanks for the taxi, Grizz. Nice ride, maybe a little rough from time to time, but we made it. As you may know my names' Gray and hers' Serena. If we are in need of another taxi service be sure you are our first choice." I replied with a grin.

As we touched down and disembarked from the shuttle, he addressed me once more. "Just one question, what the hack is a cavalry?"

I laughed at the question. "I guess the one we spoke with from the other shuttle is also a human, otherwise this term wouldn't be known to him. It stands for a special sort of warriors on horses, four-legged animals from our home planet. At these times they used to be the most powerful part of an army, as firearms except bows where not invented yet. They had full plated armours made of iron, using lances, blades and shields as weapons. As I said they were very powerful, an attack in full speed mostly annihilated an enemy unit. That is why we still say the cavalry has arrived in such cases where you are in need of assistance."

"Nice story though, how long is this ago?" He asked as he led us to the entrance of a well-defended three storey building.

"Before the invention of firearms they ruled the battlefield for several hundred hears. Afterwards their importance diminished quickly. It lasted until the 15th century of our time calculation, so merely 700 years ago, in galactic standard years about 600."

He shook his head at my answer "That reminds me how young your race actually is, but nevertheless humanity is a force to be reckoned with. Unlike other turians I don't nurture a grudge on your folks, but your impregnable drive to surge forward challenges other races. This trait of you is both gift and curse, given time to learn how to use it without antagonising the other species you can accomplish a lot in this galaxy."

His quick and accurate subsumption of humanity and his view on us stunned me for a short time; finally I managed to give an answer. "Your insights are interesting; I must admit I never thought about it that way. Concerning this special trait you mentioned you are perfectly right, considering our history of the past three thousand years this was always the root of our biggest achievements and our worst problems. We nearly managed to extinguish ourselves a mere 100 standard years ago. I hope this time we do it better".

"This time half the galaxy is at stake, so our hopes are the same." At that we arrived at the entrance to the building before us. It was surrounded by high fences, some guards patrolling the walkways and the roof.

"We heard you had a heavy ride to bring us those two guests, getting too old for this, Grizz? One of the guards watching the only visible entrance – also a turian – addressed him.

"Let's continue this one in the sparring room, I'll show you how old I am" Grizz retorted, but not unfriendly. He turned around to us "You will have to leave your weaponry here, I'm sorry, but we don't take any chances on this."

I eyed him suspiciously. _Why should he bring us here only to give us a shot in the head? Won't make a real sense, so be it."_

"I don't appreciate it, but I do understand the reason." I answered firmly, handing over my weapons to the guards.

As I passed over the weapons Grizz glanced at the Locust. "Nice one you have there, I always liked it for its accuracy in combination to an adequate firepower. Not easy to get and very expensive." He concluded.

"Yeah, I love it, most weapons tend to have more firepower in exchange for accuracy, this ones' perfectly balanced." I said with affirmation.

"Ok, then, let's not keep her waiting" He invited us leading the way inside.


	8. Lion's den

**Lion's den**

I used the opportunity to glance at Serena who had been silent all the time. She seemed to have regained her composure, presenting an even-tempered face to her surroundings. But I could see in her eyes that she fought an inner battle to keep it up. I took her hand and squeezed it short but firmly. She looked me straight in the eyes; a scarcely visible smile appeared for a second before it was replaced again by the even-tempered mask. _"At least she is not completely mad at me"_

We followed Grizz through several corridors and doors, all locked or even guarded, the ground floor made the impression of a high security factory, bare walls, no visible decorations, all doors secured. _"Even with my weapons we would stand no chance to leave this building without permission."_

Finally we came to an elevator, likewise secured with a DNA-reader and an additional voice check when inside. "Third floor" Grizz commanded "Voice verification positive, access granted" answered a synthetic voice, the elevator doors closing now.

The doors opened and we emerged into a vast room completely different from the ground floor. The room was obviously meant to impress visitors, judging the intricate materials used for the floor and the walls, the expensive and exclusive furniture in the middle to sit down and wait, ending up in delicate decorations ranging from pictures at the walls to several cabinets displaying various sculptures and relics.

"Very intimidating, almost a little overwhelming at first sight" Serena commented while following Grizz, who ignored his surroundings, obviously used to it. He opened a door at the far end of the room, and stepped into another, which was furnished completely different from the one before. The furniture and decorations were still of a delicate quality but of a subtle design and more practically oriented. "This is more to my liking than the one before, this was simply too much in my eyes" I said to Serena.

"I can hand you an evaluation sheet so you can assess each room and present your results to your host, 'would love to be present at this meeting" Grizz said chuckling.

Serena chuckled herself "Without knowing her, I prefer to skip the evaluation sheet thing and shut my mouth instead."

"You definitively enhance your lifespan with that decision. Here we are finally" He concluded as he knocked on a door and opened it shortly afterwards.

The Asari stood in the middle of a room, an illegible expression on her face. "The travel was a little rough as I heard, I hope you are well?" She asked while looking at Grizz who had entered the room at first. His answer gave me the possibility to take a look around, again the furniture was remarkable and of a subtle elegance. I guessed the room was used as an office but also came along with enough possibilities to host a small group of guests.

Aria turned her attention to me and Serena now "You aroused a lot of turmoil, Mr Carlyle, if intentionally or not doesn't make a big difference right now." She stated then turning her gaze to Serena raising an eyebrow "And who may be you, I expected only one guest?".

"He insisted to bring her along, stating that she would in danger, if left behind, recent events proved him right. I didn't see any problem with his request, leaving the final decision up to you."

"My name is Serena, the fact that I am here now is an unforeseen chain of events triggered by his rescue of mine yesterday evening. As I had no place to stay he offered me refugee in his lodge, well, you know the rest."

Aria eyed me inquisitively "Seems you have a weak spot there, Mr Carlyle. I assume your protégé already knows enough about the reasons of this eventful morning. If she is going to stay here or not is up to you know."

"I don't see any harm if she stays, first of all she will be affected by whatever is the outcome of this conversation, and her face is known now to whomever is after me. Unless she doesn't want to stay" I forwarded the decision to Serena.

"As you said I'm involved now - unwilling or not – and this won't change if I just close my eyes" Serena stated.

"Take a seat, all of you" Her gesture included Grizz, a fact that surprised me, he was seemingly of a higher rank in her organization than I expected. "My intelligence informed me a while ago that some organizations are planning to replace me, but they were unable to find the root of these efforts. This invitation is because your arrival yesterday caused some subtle waves in the information network, and my intelligence is almost sure that the rumours and the increased interest in your person are of the same origin. I hoped you are willing to fill in some of the blanks for me."

"First of all, my intentions for this visit were merely to buy some supplies and perhaps find a job, no more no less. That my arrival caused any kind of turbulences is still surprising me, keeping in mind that I have a good reputation as a sniper and for being loyal and reliable, but there are other candidates out there, who are certainly better suited for such a job. Before I go on, I'd like to know if you are aware about my activities yesterday."

Aria eyes narrowed "It is you, who is in question here, but this information is not crucial, so be it. I know that you made a substantial investment in the lower markets; you purchased some kind of armour upgrade and weaponry. I know also that you had a meeting in a pub not far away from the markets, the person you met is an information broker of some reputation, and he works for various clients. What I want to know is the topic of this meeting and a possible hint about my enemy."

"Fair enough. I told this information broker that I will keep any information he gave me confidential." And…

She interrupted me sharply "You should put another thought into that; your life may be in question, if you deny me an answer."

"If you would hear me out, I will come to that." I waited a second for a reaction from her side, and then continued. "I also said him, that I will keep this promise unless I am forced to take sides. Obviously he didn't care or he suggested that I had already chosen sides when Grizz picked us up this morning, I guess the latter one. Anyway I am now forced to take sides, and the fact I am here may be an indicator which one I chose. But to come back to the topic of our conversation yesterday, he offered me a job to assassinate you, along with a very substantial reward. I would have denied then and there, but I was sure they would kill me instantly if I do so."

"You can be sure about that, it would have been a big risk to let you live once you knew about their intentions." Aria interrupted again, this time without anger in her voice.

"That is why I bade him for some time to think about the offer, what he accepted, awaiting my answer this morning. As I left the pub I was sure they would tail each and every step of me, recent events proofed me right. He gave me this contact address, but I'm sure it is generic and therefore a dead end, but maybe your intelligence is able to bring something up." With that I handed over the piece of paper the negotiator had given me yesterday.

"Will be a dead end for sure, but it's worth trying." Grizz said as Aria handed it over to him.

"If this is all you can tell me, it is not much, but at least you confirmed my suspicions. But tell me something, why didn't you accept the offer? Some mercs wait their whole life for such an opportunity." Aria continued the questioning, seemingly not sure if she should believe my story in all details.

"My decision had two reasons: I am not searching for glory and money unlike most other mercs. My motives are of a completely different kind, but this is not of your concern. The second reason is that I don't accept jobs which will cause harm to innocents; I only assassinated targets who had committed severe crimes. You may call it another weak spot, but this is my way to deal with the consequences of my profession."

"You are right, I call this a weak spot, but this is your decision, not mine. But why do you think my death would cause harm to innocents? I am a merciless criminal by all accounts, so I am fitting into your prey-pattern as I see it."

"This is correct, but think about this station, it is the melting-pot for all the scum of the terminus systems. Half of the population is more or less criminal; the other half struggles to stay alive. Nevertheless you somehow manage to secure a fragile peace on this station, keeping the different parties or organizations occupied with each other. Without you I am sure a clan war would be the inevitable outcome."

Aria thought a while about my words. "I am still not sure if I can trust your story, but your insights are remarkably correct, at least from my point of view. Cut to the roots you say I am the lesser evil, and that is why you chose to deny the offer. This would fit into the information I have about you, so let's assume I believe what you said." She made a short pause and continued, now looking at me inquisitively. "With all that said, what are your plans, assuming that all bounty hunters and most of the mercs are hunting you both now?"

"Assuming that our well-being is not of interest for you, I guess you have something in mind?" I countered her question.

She smiled at that, eyes glistening "Straight to the core of the matter, this may be unusual for Asari, but I like it. And your assumption is correct, I have something in mind. I am offering you a chance to fight back, your target will be the head behind the attempt to assassinate me. The payment will be 80k per target, a fair amount of money, no extra fees, payment on success, take it or leave it."

"But you do not know who this is actually, right?"

"That is true, but we already have some tracks which lead to a very small group of possible targets. It is only a matter of time until we find out who is behind all this."

"That actually leads to my next question, where are we going to stay, presumed it is as you said that half the station is looking out for me?"

"You can stay in this building as long as needed; there are a lot of spare rooms in the second floor. I have to take my leave soon, so I need an answer now."

I turned my attention to Serena "As you are affected by my answer, what is your opinion about it?"

"I don't think I have a say in this, but as you have asked me, we have two choices, run and try our luck, or you take the job. I would suggest the second one, but as you risk your life with it, the final choice is yours."

I glanced at Aria again, who in turn raised an eyebrow _"She perfectly knows what my answer must be if I care for Serena. I would be able to leave this planet all alone, but not with her."_

Her answer was brief but determined and so was mine "In that case the answer is yes, under one additional condition"

Aria eyes narrowed "And what may that be? "

"In case I fail to accomplish the job you will take care that Serena will get a flight from this station on a destination she will choose, see it as a guaranteed payment."

"Fair enough, so we have an agreement" She turned her attention to the turian. "Grizz, take care of the room and also show them where they can help themselves for drink and food." She left the room without any other words.

Grizz stood up, glanced at Serena and me and snorted "Taxi driver, butler, and next time I'm going to wipe your asses clean and sober, seems I'm really getting old."

I chuckled at the thought "If you are going to do so, you will first have to fight me down to carry out your orders."

"That would be at least some fun" He smirked "Your highness, please follow me to VIP area"

"You're the first turian I get to know who is addicted to irony; I always presumed this is typically human behaviour."

"Maybe I spend too much time with your kind, should be looking for a Salarian or something. On the other hand they always make me nuts, talking too fast and too much ya'know, like an assault rifle on full auto."

"I got the picture, try a Krogan then, they appreciate fighting more than talking."

Grizz chuckled "Getting numb-minded and all that, sorry I quit, actually putting a thought or two into it, maybe humans aren't too bad after all."

Using the elevator we reached the second floor, which appeared to be an apartment complex. "You're lucky indeed, these rooms are intended for permanent and trusted members of our organization, mercenaries normally have to take care of themselves, ya'know. Considering your situation it makes sense to quarter you here, and we do have some spare rooms."

"I was surprised by that offer, actually it tipped the scales."

"I guess this was the intention, keeping in mind there is no safe spot for you outside of this building right now. Aria certainly knows how to deal with people; this is basically how she survived a longer time than my whole lifespan."

He halted in front of a door. "Here we are, if you need food and drink, the lunchroom is downstairs, as you don't have access to the elevator you will have to call the security with the panel beside it. I will make sure both of you will be enlisted for the voice verification the first time you are going to use it. Make yourself comfortable, I will send you some intelligence we have gathered concerning your job, maybe you can make something of it. Use the terminal inside your room to look it up. This is all for now, I will call you this afternoon."

Serena took a step forward, now standing in front of the Turian. "Thank you, you have been very kind all the time, especially to me, for I am more or less an obstacle in this whole story."

Grizz mandibles flared, seemingly the turian expression of surprise. "You're welcome Serena, and it may be true that you are an obstacle concerning this affair, but at least you are a beautiful one."

Serena blushed at the compliment, but smiled nevertheless. "Then at least I am good for something" she answered with a smirk.

"See you later then, don't get wrapped up in a conversation with a Salarian or even worse with a Krogan." I added wearing a mischievous smile.

He snorted with a grin. "Will keep that in mind". With that he walked away.

We entered the apartment, which consisted of one room with a bathroom attached to it; the furniture was basic but practical, not a place to live in but sufficient for the time being.

I addressed Serena "What do you think? Not too bad after all, I used to stay in rooms far worse than that."

"It is rather cold and practically oriented, but it is clean and – more important in the moment – a safe place after all." She answered with regret in her voice.

I took a deep breath, anticipating what must follow now. "Serena, I know you regret now that you came with me yesterday night. All this was not my intention, but it was my fault to invite you in the first place, I am really sorry." I sat down on one of the chairs, burying my head in my hands.

She whirled around, hurtled towards me and kindly lifted my head until our eyes met. Her eyes glistened with tears, her hand trembled slightly "Please don't say anything like that again, it is simply not true. You did nothing to be blamed for; you showed me mercy when nobody else did. And I am sure your choice concerning Aria's offer would have been different if not for me. Alone you simply would have fled the station with her permission, but you stayed because of me. Again you put your life at risk for me, and you think I am mad at you?"

I looked at her in surprise, aware that my face resembled this. "Again you dumbfounded me, your perception is astonishing. But why those tears, is it the aftermath of witnessing all that violence directed at you?"

In spite of an answer she dropped to her knees, burying her head on my shoulder, tears now flowing freely. I just held her for a couple of minutes _"Holding your mouth once in a while certainly helps, I should keep that in mind."_

She raised her head and drew back a little; her unbelievable eyes locked my wandering gaze immediately. "I am sorry, but I simply couldn't sustain the barriers anymore which held my composure."

"That's all natural after all, considering what you witnessed in these past few hours including yesterday."

As somebody knocked at the door I jolted upright at first, expecting another unwanted surprise. _"I should think about a timeout when all this over, if I carry on like this, it will get me sooner or later, and for the first time in all those years I actually care about tomorrow…"_

In the meantime Serena had answered the door and stood now before our luggage we had left in the shuttle, and – surprisingly – my weapons were part of it. I left my chair to help her with our stuff and inspected them.

Serena rummaged the oversized Shirt she had worn last night out of her luggage and went for the bathroom "If you don't mind, I will take a nap, maybe I feel better then."

"I hope you do" I just said, currently absent and deep in thoughts. _"Thinking about a timeout is not a bad idea after all, but where to go? Home? Not yet, it'll break me. But where else, there is no place I really appreciate, I can't even remember half of the places I happened to be in the last years." _Pushing the thoughts aside,I went over to the terminal Grizz' had indicated. _First things first, let's have a look at the data Grizz promised me, maybe I will find something of worth."_

I activated the terminal and sighted the provided material. Several intelligence reports summed up the collected material, pointing out several suspicious connections between three involved parties and their respective leaders. Nothing led to a final conclusion, the possibilities ranged from none of them to all of them and various combinations _"Nothing to build a bridge on. A lot of suspicions, their worth is next to nothing without a proof"._ I also sighted the materials attached to each of the reports, mostly photos, some messages, a lot of names I had never heard of. I got weary on hundreds of photos of people I had never seen before, at least not that I remembered it. I almost had fallen asleep as a specific face on one of the photos I looked on with eyes half closed was familiar to me. Wide awake again, I recognized the negotiator that offered me the job to assassinate Aria yesterday, as she said an information broker with many clients. On the next photo I recognized the batarian who had followed me before I captured him in the by-street. A couple of pictures later I saw him again, this time accompanied by the information broker and one of the suspects, their surroundings looked intangible familiar. As I studied the photo closer I recognized the place where I had met with my contact to the black market. It was the last photo of this report and as I glanced at the date and time it was taken, every nuance of weariness was swept away; the date was yesterday, and the time roughly 20 minutes before I had confronted the batarian. _"This meeting had gathered right after I had left the warehouse! It is no final proof, but more than anything else in these reports! I have to tell Grizz, maybe he will inform Aria immediately and all this could be over quite soon."_ With a look at the sleeping Asari I decided not to disturb her and visit him personally.


	9. Coffee break

**Coffee break**

I left a note on the desk for Serena and then left the room heading for the elevator. Using the panel besides it, my request was answered quickly "Identify yourself and your destination".

"My name is Grayson Carlyle and the destination is the ground floor." I said to the panel, unsure where the actual microphone location was hidden.

"I recorded the voice now Mr Carlyle, you have permission to travel between ground and first floor freely. The ground floor is high security area; your permission is limited to the entrance hall, the bar and the cafeteria, please stay in these areas while you are there."

"Thank you, I am going to grab some food, you don't happen to know where Grizz is running about?"

"I can contact him, but only if it is important. He is currently not in the building, so you will have to wait nevertheless"

"Ok, then please call him and tell him I've found something in the reports he gave me, something valuable as I see it."

"I inform him, security out."

I stepped inside the elevator and emerged in the ground floor a few seconds later. Unsure where to go exactly for the cafeteria I looked for any signs as a human clad in battle gear approached me "I've got a message from Grizz for you. He will join you soon in the cafeteria."

As he started to turn around and walk away immediately without even waiting for an answer I stopped him with a question "Thanks, but do you happen to know where this might be? I'm a newbie here, and there are no signs giving you directions."

He turned around again, wearing a slick grin "As this is no public building you don't give an intruder directions, do you? Anyway go down this corridor, then turn left and shortly afterwards right." With a curt nod he went off.

"Thanks again" I murmured, heading for the cafeteria now. It was an elongated room with lots of seats and tables, accompanied by a couple of synthesizers at the far end, lacking any kind of decorations in order to give the place a decent look. It reminded me of the humans' words _"It is not a public place, that's for sure. Unless you like ugly places, nobody would go here by choice."_

The few present _guests_ ignored me more or less, which was appreciated. I headed for the synthesizers, awaiting a comparable uncharitable menu as the room suggested, but was dumbfounded. The synthesizers were grouped by race, each of them representing a variety of possible menus outlined on the panels beside them. _"Well, better to have a crappy room and a good menu than the other way round."_

I chose an array of meats and vegetables, and was surprised a second time as I found coffee available at the self-service bar. _"Last time I had a good coffee is at least a year ago, I hope it is not that artificial stuff."_

Sitting down at one of the tables I had barely started my meal as Grizz entered the cafeteria, greeted me and got himself something to eat before sitting down next to me.

"Hope you like the food, it is surprisingly good."

"Yeah, it's great. But what I like most is the fact that this is a real coffee and a good one besides!" I replied my face wearing a happy grin.

"Seems you are easy to satisfy, give that guy a coffee and he's in for the day." Grizz chuckled at my expression.

"Be sure of that, do ya'know how difficult it is to get a decent coffee? Even on human colonies they often have this artificial shit, I am truly surprised you've got the good stuff here."

"Aria looks after her people, that's one of the reasons for her continuous success. I never understood your peoples' addiction to this beverage, but the humans of our personnel really appreciate it. and besides, some of the Asari also seem to like it"

"Makes sense, these people are hired for giving their life for her if necessary, there's no harm if they feel content with their job."

"That's the idea behind it." With a short pause he continued. "I was informed you found something of importance in the intelligence I provided you with?"

"Yeah, it is not a final proof, but as close as we can get. You remember my story when this information broker approached me yesterday?"

"I do, but he himself is a dead end, too many possible clients."

"I know, but before this meeting I was contacted by a batarian who brought me to the pub where we met. Well, contacted is maybe the wrong word, he followed me and I pushed a pistol on the back of his head in a by-road. Anyway I saw his face pretty well, and also the big scar on his left cheek, looking like a Varren liked the better of him. To come to the conclusion, exactly this guy as well as the information broker and one of the suspects met on a photo which is attached to the last report."

"I'm sorry, but this does not proof anything, even if it intensifies some suspicions." Grizz interrupted me.

"I know, but this photo was taken just twenty minutes on a place in the lower markets I left just a few minutes before, the batarian must have followed me right away after this gathering. Could still be a coincidence, but strange enough to tell you."

"That makes things different, so you say they met right before you were invited to this meeting where this information broker – his name is Garviel by the way – offered you the job to kill Aria. Well, this is proof enough for me, but she has to decide in the end, I will forward this information to her. Be ready to be questioned about it again, I'm off immediately after I've finished my meal."

I had finished my meal in the meantime, now pondering what to bring for Serena, as I absolutely had no idea what a young Asari could be in for. "May I ask for a favour before you go? I'd like to bring Serena something to eat, but I don't have a clue about Asari eating habits, the menu is not a big help either, as I don't know the names. Could you possibly fill in that gap for me?"

The turian, who had finished his meal likewise by now, stood up issuing an amused snore. "I'm doing my best, but forgive me if she doesn't like it. I know some of the things they tend to like, but I'm far from being an expert. So let's have a look."

He chose a variety of food and a drink he guessed most Asari preferred and handed the tray over to me. "Here you are, and as I said, keep my name out of the line of fire. I'm going to meet Aria now to tell her the news, won't be long until you hear something."

"Thanks, and I won't mention your name if she doesn't appreciate it."

We left the cafeteria and I headed for the elevator where we parted. As I entered the room Serena was awake, but seemingly just stood up, as she was still wearing that odd shirt of mine.

"Hi Gray, I just wanted to catch up with you in the cafeteria, I'm starving." She greeted me with a smile.

I placed the tray before her, lifting the cover. "No need for that, I brought you something. But I'm a newbie to your food, so be gentle with your judgement of the selection."

She beamed at me. "Very attentive of you, now let's have a look what we have here." She turned to the meal before her and started to eat immediately. "Don't worry; it's not my most favourite food, but a good selection, I am surprised they have such specialities."

"In that case I must admit, you can honour Grizz for it, I would have played lottery with the Asari menu to tell you the truth. But concerning the quality it's the same for me, they have a selection of food for the different races that are in her service, I had a great meal of human food, and – even more important – they make a great coffee, not that artificial bullshit you get on most occasions." I answered lifting the second cup I had brought with me.

"Coffee? Never heard of that, so I guess it is a humans' thing. Maybe I'll try it once." She said between some bites.

While she ate her meal, I recounted my discovery and also the fact that I presumably would have to leave her alone for a while.

"I didn't expect you to be here holding my hand all the time, especially considering your new job, as you call it." She said between bites. "Be careful out there, my guardian angel, I hope you have one of your own." She added looking at me with sorrow in her eyes.

"I'll try to keep that in mind, but as I said to you yesterday night, I'm waiting for the day I am running out of luck…the second time then." I swallowed hard, fighting back the emotions that tried to overwhelm me, my thoughts racing back to a certain day soon to be five years ago; the first time my luck had failed me completely.

Serena now looked at me with concern; the sorrow in her eyes was now replaced by a mixture of fear and compassion. "You are a mystery to me, Gray. You are always presenting that stern faced guy, determined and hard as a rock, even merciless sometimes, and then, suddenly and seemingly without a visible cause, your barriers give way, you seem broken, an ocean of grief, all emotional. And then, a few seconds later, the barrier is up again."

"I must admit this happens more often recently, the madness at my heels is finally getting me…" My voice trembled and faded of.

"Did you ever consider the possibility that whatever is hidden behind those barriers needs to be treated? You told me you are running away from yourself, so maybe the better of you is at your heels and you just have to let it in." Her eyes were fixed at mine, looking out for any reaction on her words.

"_Maybe she is right, maybe the time has come to stop running…there are two possible outcomes, I'm going insane or I can figure it out, but I __certainly can't go on like this."_

"You don't have to give me an answer; I just want you to think about it." She added, not expecting a response any more.

"I will, I just did think about it actually, but now is certainly not the time to do this, not before I've finished this job." I finally answered, again swallowing hard. "And I thank you for your honest words."

Her expression changed to a soft smile "I'm glad you didn't back away into your nutshell completely this time. I won't give up on this, be sure about that. But you are right, for now keep your barriers up and running, may be very well your life-saver."

She stood up, still wearing my awkward looking T-Shirt, and halted in front of me, locking her eyes with mine. "Take care of yourself, if not for you, do it for me."

Looking into the fathomless depth of these eyes, my still boiling emotions calmed down. As the tension left me, I felt ready for another round. "I promise." Was my simple answer before I turned to my luggage to assemble my armour and weapons, still pondering what was going on with me.

Changing the topic she walked over to the terminal on the desk. "Do we have connection to the extranet?"

"Sorry, don't know that, I just looked up the files Grizz send me."

"Then I just try, I want to make some investigations on my own, and since I've got a lot of time now…"

"If not I can ask Grizz to give you access, I'm sure he won't mind. In any case don't use it for personal investigation; you can be sure it will be logged."

She looked up from the terminal "You're always very suspicious, you really think they will log each and every thing I'm doing?"

"Think about it, this is the basis of the most powerful criminal organization on Omega. If they know personal facts about you, for example your family, it is quite possible this will be used against you if necessary. By the way, life happened to make me suspicious, I'm not exaggerating, you may call it wisdom of years, but this would sound odd considering your and my age."

"Ok then, I leave out all personal stuff, but don't you think then they will spy on us anyway?"

I pointed to the little jamming device I had activated when our luggage arrived. "This little gadget prevents that, so we should be able to talk freely."

"Oh, I see." Her puzzled expression made me smile.

We were interrupted by the com unit, I answered it and Grizz' voice greeted me "You're ready to go? Aria awaits you at the Afterlife as soon as possible."

"Just finished, ready for take-off."

"Perfect, see you at the elevator ground floor." The com unit went silent.

"I am not sure what awaits me there, maybe only discussing my discovery or even a first move, dependent on that it can get late."

"Don't apologize for what you cannot influence, you're not accountable to me, ya'know?"

"I know, but I still feel a little guilty for bringing you into this situation, even if you tell me it's alright."

"I am alright, ok? Be off with you, and don't worry about me, focus on yourself, I'm not in imminent danger here."

"You're right, so take care, and see you soon." With that I turned around and left the small apartment heading for the elevator.

Grizz already waited at the ground floor "There you are, I hope didn't interrupt you two lovebirds." He greeted me with a grin, turning to one of the corridors beside the elevator.

"You're really the caring type, aren't you?" I teased him. "But we're not a couple; I just met her yesterday night, rescuing her pretty blue ass from three batarians who were in for some amusement."

He snorted "This was your handiwork then, kinda mess you left there."

"You were there actually?" I asked him in surprise.

"No, it was in the news this morning, three more or less headless batarians, no trace no visible reason. But as always on Omega nobody really cares, the violence is part of the daily grind."

"It was a mess, but a quick one; maybe 25 seconds before the last one lost his head on the run. I tried to ignore it, just go by, but something forced me to intervene."

"The weak spot again, and now you've got a pretty little blue - how do you humans say – millstone around your belly."

"Actually it is a millstone around your neck, but I got the picture. Anyway I can't mend that right now, so what did she say?"

"I just told her a short summary and she told me to bring you, she also said she had some news of her own."

We reached the garage of the building, dozens of armoured shuttles like the one Grizz' had used to pick us up were parked in it, a couple of them currently in maintenance.

"Kinda' fleet you've got here. And by the looks the weather on Omega is rough." I commented the repair section of the hall which had obviously no lack of work.

Grizz grunted, glancing at our taxi from this morning, by far the worst damaged shuttle. "Yeah, we recently had some heavy weather, all along with bullet rain and rocket showers." I certainly hope that we've got better luck this time, I'm too old for such a ride twice the same day."

"I can assure you this has nothing to do with age, this time I'd prefer a calm ride."

"Anyway we'll be not alone this time, Aria gave orders today that no shuttle is allowed to travel alone." Grizz pointed at two human figures waiting in front of a shuttle.

Grizz introduced the two of them with a grin as we reached them. "You know Jason from this morning, the other one is his co-pilot Andrew, if they have a good day they're capable of drinking as much alcohol as I do, counted together of course."

I greeted Jason and Andrew with a nod "Good to see you guys, this time we've got the cavalry already with us".

Jason responded wearing a skew smile. "Quite an extraordinary summary of our best character traits, thank you Grizz, I'm utterly impressed. But we'll try that next time, old man."

"I count on that. Now let's get going, our lady awaits us." Grizz pointed on our shuttle and opened the door.

This time the flight was not disturbed by bullet rain and rocket showers, and I really appreciated that.


	10. Afterlife

**Afterlife**

We arrived at the Afterlife about 15 minutes later, entering it through a side entrance to avoid the crowd. Leading me through bare corridors Grizz took the chance to inspect the security rooms, where three guards watched monitors depicting nearly all areas of the Afterlife. If arguments between guests got too rude or escalated the security would yank them out he explained to me. We reached the backdoor entry emerging directly into the secured area of Aria's booth.

"She seems to be in conversation, let's wait some minutes, you'd like something to drink?"

"If you go and grab it yes, I still have this 'half-of-the-station-is-hunting-you' thing in mind, ya'know."

Grizz mandibles flared. "Guess what, I'm adding waitress to my job description in an instant, just for you."

"You're too courteous, and I am all pins and needles to see you in your dress now." I grinned back at him.

"Point scored, I'm better off for the drinks now, I'm seeing myself already down on my knees, cleaning your boots." He chuckled and went off for the drinks.

I inspected my surroundings, the booth was a large circle about six meters in diameter with a couch-like seating lining the inner wall, enough space to host a small group of guests. The large window covered almost half of it, the view cut in two by an advertisement pillar outside it. _"Quite an open invitation for an attack, I wonder if this window is bulletproof enough to withstand a sniper rifle. Given the fact she is the unofficial queen of this station for more than hundred years, it won't be made of simple glass." _Attached to the booth were two stairways joining in the middle behind it. On both entries two guards stood sentry, their helmets and armour changing in colour as the whirling light from the club passed over them time and again.

Aria's current guest left the booth and she indicated me to come in. I sat down on the left side of the couch, facing her as she sat in the middle. "Heard you found something interesting, Grizz told me the details and I am inclined to follow his judgement in this."

"He's right in that, it is a little bit to much coincidence to be ignored. He also told me you've got some additional news?"

"Made my homework. Immediately after Grizz informed me about your discovery I activated a couple of agents to have a closer look at this special subject and investigate if we have further information about his recent contacts. They were able to identify another possible partaker of this conspiracy, but nothing's settled yet concerning this.

"What would you like me to do then, move forward or wait until we have more information? If I am going to strike fast, every other partaker is warned and will take cover."

"For now just wait, but you can prepare for the first target, talk to Grizz what you need." Looking around she asked me. "By the way, you happen to know where he is?"

"He wanted to catch a drink for the two of us." I replied looking out of the window trying to get a glimpse of him. As my eyes wandered through the main hall of the Afterlife it was illuminated for a fragment of a second by a flashlight. I caught a glimpse of someone bending above a rifle like form mounted on a rack. Seeing the astonishment in my eyes, Aria raised an eyebrow "What's…". I didn't let her finish the sentence but jumped in her direction, pushing her backwards into the couch. The very same moment the window was hit by a bullet accompanied by the sound of splintering glass. The bullet hit one of the guards standing at the entrance in the breast, piercing through shields and armour, leaving a wet hole as he toppled over.

Aria instantly used her biotics to push me away from her, defending herself out of a reflex. Crashing into the ceiling where just a second before the guard had been standing I landed on his dead body. Most of the impact was absorbed by my armour, but I felt like been hit by a krogan on red sand. She realized her fault a blink of an eye later, gazing in astonishment at the hole in the bullet-proof glass above her head. Regaining her composure quickly she yelled at the guards. "Get that assassin, secure the club, let nobody out!"

Her cutting voice washed away the numbness of the guards, they immediately took cover and secured all entrances. I stood up and quickly went for cover below the window taking a glance at the snipers spot but it was too dark to be sure. "He was over there, first floor, in the corner on the far left side. It's to dark to be sure if he's still there."

In that very moment Grizz entered the booth, his shotgun drawn. "Are you okay? I alarmed the guards at the front entrance, they are sealing the doors currently."

"Finally someone with the brains to take action without being ordered." Aria scoffed with a glance to one of the other guards.

"We should get you out of here immediately, I don't know where the sniper is, and who knows if he's alone." Grizz proposed as he had taken cover beside me.

"Not the best idea to leave the building, I'm pretty sure they prepared a warm welcome in case the sniper failed. Maybe it's better to order reinforcements and sit it out right here." I chipped in.

"Point taken, so we will wait right here and secure the building." Aria nodded.

The guests of the club were in turmoil, most of them trying to leave it, but the sealed doors held them back. As some of the guests had drawn their weapons in self-defence no one paid much attention to a group of three Krogans in full battle-gear. Ten meters away from the stairway to our refugee on the left side they drew their weapons and attacked issuing a battle-cry. The two guards at this side managed to take down one of them with combined fire but had no time to take cover as the remaining Krogans charged in for close combat. Both guards were blown to pieces from shotgun shells on point blank range.

In the booth we heard the onslaught but didn't know exactly what was happening. Grizz ordered the remaining guards to defend the entrance. "I'll chance a look" he stated and ran outside only to be hit by a charging Krogan. The impact sent him flying out of my range of vision.

Aria was shimmering in a blue aura, it seemed her body was issuing massive electrical discharges. _"At least we've got something in off the cuff."_ The two remaining guards at the entrance – a human and a turian - opened fire but were quickly reminded why it is futile to engage a Krogan in close combat. Aria sent a blast of dark energy into the first of their opponents in the moment the second guard literally exploded due to another point blank hit from a shotgun. The biotic wave sent him flying into his companion behind him and both toppled down.

I decided to use the opportunity and activated my cloaking device to quit the booth, quickly moving down a few stairs to get out of sight before the cloak would collapse. _"I should get out of here, two of those monsters on point blank range is way too much to handle."_ Despite my own thoughts I readied my sniper rifle and ran up the stairs again.

The first Krogan came into sight, luckily they had needed a couple of seconds to recover from the biotic attack and were just about to enter the booth again as shots from a pistol could be heard from the inside. The effect seemed to be next to nothing as the first shot from a shotgun could be heard. Both Krogans were concentrated on their prey now, so I closed in to place a shot in the back of the head on point blank range. The effect was devastating but appreciated as the hindmost Krogan went down with a fist sized hole in his head. In the meantime the second Krogan fired his shotgun at Aria again, this time followed by an agonized cry from the inside.

No time for reloading I dropped the Mantis and grabbed for my Phalanx as the last Krogan turned around in an instant, reloading while moving. _"Fuck he's fast"_ Where my last thoughts as the bullet hit me on a distance of two meters, sending my flying backwards, kinetic barriers collapsing but fending off the worst of the damage. As I hit the wall behind me stars clouded my vision, Barely hearing the sound of the shotgun being reloaded. _"Here we go, The day my luck has run out, fate has found me finally. I wish you all the best Serena, hope you find your place in life."_ I closed my eyes anticipating the sound of a shotgun bullet that would end my life, end my grief, end my vain quest for salvation. I closed my eyes and welcomed oblivion.


	11. Rollercoaster ride part II

Rollercoaster ride – part II

The sound I heard instead was an agonized howl from the inside of the booth. I opened my eyes blinking away the dizziness only to see the Krogan to be lifted by invisible hands and smashed to the floor. Inside the booth Aria stood trembling, her dress soaked up in her own blood pouring out of severe wounds. "Swallow that you fucking son of a Varren". With that she collapsed to the floor, her last reserves consumed by the powerful biotic attack. The Krogan was not finished yet, his unchecked motions were proof enough of this. I picked up my Phalanx which was lost due to the shotgun hit and placed the muzzle in front of his forehead. He was seemingly aware of my presence as he grabbed for my legs in a last attempt to survive. The simple fact that he still lived after such an attack was just another proof of the infamous Krogan' survivability. In the moment he got hold of my left leg I pulled the trigger and didn't stop before the heat magazine was exhausted – or rather full.

Heading over to Aria I found her still breathing, but the heartbeat seemed faint and dim, although I was far from an expert of Asari physiognomy I could tell that here wounds would kill her soon enough because of the blood loss.. A few seconds later more guards arrived, gazing at the slaughterhouse the residence of their boss had become.

"Get a medic immediately, she will die very soon if no help arrives." I almost yelled at them.

One of the guards approached me. "First some Medigel, she's far beyond that if no other help arrives but it will buy us some additional time."

I nodded my approval, trying to suppress the most severe of the wounds in her gut with my bare hands. "_If she dies my contract is over and I – we – can leave the station unharmed, so why am I doing this?_ The thought echoed in my mind several times before I made a decision. "_No, I won't do this for the very same reason I didn't walk by when Serena was in danger. If I let loose the last ties to the human I used to be and it would have been better the Krogan would have had enough time to pull the trigger."_

A few minutes later two salarian medics arrived, carrying a lot of medical equipment with them. "Looks grave. Have to act quickly. Need medical transport. Can you arrange the security?" One of them looked at me raising his left eyebrow.

Looking around at the guards I realized that none of her officers had survived the onslaught, so I nodded at his request.

"Release hands now please. Step back. Medical transport arrives in 6 minutes. Please arrange security."

I stepped back as the salarians took over.

"How many guards are left?" I addressed a turian guard.

"With the four at the front door 8 are still alive." He replied.

"Ok then, open the front doors and get the others in here immediately, we have to escort Aria and four are simply not enough."

"You have no authority here, you are not even part of our organization. Aria's orders were to keep the doors closed in order to find the assassin."

I crossed the distance between us in an instant, pulling him close while holding my Phalanx to the side of his head. "That was before she was shot to pieces you brainless son of a Varren. Now get those guards over here or I will see to find someone who is obeying my orders. Am I clear?"

He gulped and nodded then spoke onto his intercom. "Open the doors and get over here quickly, Aria is wounded and needs an escort."

Releasing my grip I lowered the pistol. "Good guy, found your brain just in time". Did someone alarm the base? Or are they still thinking we're watching Asari dancers?"

"I alarmed them immediately as we arrived here, they should be here in about 5 minutes with all available shuttles." Another guard chipped in.

"Finally someone who makes use of his brain, I almost gave up on that, thank you for reviving my confidence in intelligent life." I scoffed in direction to the turian guard.

My attention was drawn away by a loud moan a few meters to the right. In the dim light I could see a shape moving, issuing more sounds of pain in the process. I headed over to the form recognizing Grizz. "I'm glad to see that old corpse of yours is still able to take a hit or two. You're ok?"

Grizz turned his gaze to me, mandibles flaring. "Don't make me laugh, guess all my ribs are broken, my head feels like being hit by a dreadnought." His eyes flared open suddenly, fear in his voice "Is she alive?"

Showing my bloodied hands to him I explained the situation "She lives, barely, two medics are currently taking care of her, transports arrive in a few minutes. I had to force your men to obey me to gather together an escort, we're only 10, if you count yourself in that is."

"You can tell me the details later, especially the part where you had to force my men to escort her. For now count me in, even if I won't be a great help in a firefight." With that he tried to stand up, accepting my hand for help.

Picking up his shotgun on the way we went over to the other guards, impatiently waiting for the medical transport as long as reinforcements.

The four guards from the front door arrived, soon to be followed by the medical transport. Grizz had redirected it from the main entrance to the one we had used earlier this day to enter the Afterlife without being seen. In the meantime the two salarians had managed to place Aria on a barrow. Grizz ordered two of his men to carry it and we went off for the backdoor in a quick pace.

"The reinforcements should be here by now, can you confirm?" I asked the guard who had called them.

"Please wait a sec, I try to reach them." He nodded, activating his intercom "Medical transport has arrived, we need assistance immediately, 6 minutes were over 2 minutes ago."

I looked at him as he listened to the answer, reading enough from his expression that we just encountered another problem.

"Six of our shuttles are currently involved in a firefight with two Gunships and a couple of speeders. They are currently holding them at bay, but the arrival here is unsure." He stated.

Grizz interjected "Bullshit, what now? We cannot take off with just an unarmored med shuttle, they will blow it to pieces once we are in the air."

"Don't forget about the shuttle we used to get here and the second one which escorted us. Two is better than nothing and if the others can keep the Gunships at bay we should be able to get away."

"Better than nothing, but this time I won't be able to fly, my ribs will kill me if I try."

"Ok then, you take the gun this time, I'm flying. Any other good pilot in here? And with good I don't talk about a _galaxy of fantasy_ playthrough on insane"

One of the humans walking in front of the barrow turned his head around, his face wearing a grin. "Does it count if I name myself a good pilot and played through _galaxy of fantasy_ on insane uncountable times?"

Grizz answered this time. "I know you are quite able to fly one of those shuttles, Jason, so count yourself in, take your companion with you as gunner."

"Sorry to interrupt. Med transport not made for firefight. Patient not stable. Should prevent acute bends." One of the salarian medics interjected with a stern expression on his face.

"I hope we can prevent that, but we have to take the risk, or is she stable enough to wait for more reinforcements?"

"No, not stable at all. Need immediate medical treatment. Time is running out." The medic answered.

We arrived at the back door, securing the area before entering our shuttles as the medics prepared Aria for the transport. "How far is it to our destination, I guess it won't be a normal hospital." I queried Grizz as he entered the shuttle issuing curses and moans all the time as his broken ribs painfully reminded him of their presence.

"It is a VIP hospital roughly ten minutes to fly from here, she has taken precautions for such a case, the staff is alarmed already and has received her medical recordings for preparation." Grizz responded through clenched teeth.

"Ten minutes? Doesn't sound too much, but considering her current status and unknown obstacles on the way this' gonna be a hell of a ride."

"Quite so, and as I said earlier this day I'm way too old for this twice a day." He said with a wry smile.

"I'm glad you didn't loose your humor though. If we live to see the next day we should get a big barrel of ale for the two of us and talk it over"

"Sounds good to me, I'm definitively in for shooting the lights out after this." He grinned back.

As I gently lifted the shuttle into the air to hover beside the med transport Grizz contacted the other pilot to setup the escort and finally tried get a status update of our reinforcements. He grunted then turned to face me "Two of our shuttles are already out of the game, but they managed to scrap one of the Gunships and several speeders. This day gets worse by the minute. We should expect some company as they are pretty occupied with the second Gunship."

"Sounds familiar to me, I just can't remember the occasion…"

We took off and followed the other armored shuttle and the med transport as rear guards. I made a few maneuvers to get a feeling for our vehicles behavior in case we would need it. "You're not going to do this till we arrive, are you? I'll show you today's lunch again if you please" Grizz quipped.

"Sorry, just try to figure out how this craft reacts in case we need it, somewhat sluggish in reaction but nothing special besides."

Grizz got an incoming message on the intercom and listened to it attentively. "Now you're going to need it, I was just informed that some speeders have detached from the engagement and heading in our direction, they'll be here soon. Luckily the Gunship is too slow to catch us on a short run." He gave me a curt nod. "Let's see if you're the same badass in the air you're groundside, actually I hope you are." He added with a grin in my direction.

"Then we are two already, hope falls last and the devil is a squirrel, ya'know."

"Devil? Squirrel? Sorry, got me there."

"I'll have to postpone the lecture in human idioms." Activating the intercom to address the other pilot "Incoming, 3 o'clock, four targets."

"Affirmative, any special tactic, will you stay with the med and I am the diversion?" Jason answered immediately.

"_Being the diversion is almost a death sentence, her people are loyal to the end, impressive, especially for Omega."_

Grizz answered the question. "Negative, we will engage them both, the speeders are faster than the med shuttle, we have to keep them busy. We engage first, everything that gets past us heading for the med is your duty. You copy?"

"Got it, this time we have to be the cavalry."

"Exactly, try to keep your heads on, Grizz out." He turned to face me. "Turn around and engage them, they are fast and well armed, but fragile, the only chance I see is to turn the tide quickly, otherwise they'll just outmaneuvering us."

With a nod I turned the shuttle, readying the frontal weapons, the rear and side weapons were Grizz' duty. The first two speeders came in view, quickly closing in. Both fired a pair of missiles and darted away in opposite directions. Steering the shuttle into a double bent I evaded the incoming missiles. The missiles turned in curves following their target but quickly ran out of fuel. Closing in on one of the speeders I fired the frontal heavy cannons but missed the first rounds. The enemy vehicle flew a zig-zag-pattern and fired its thrusters to expand the distance between us. Following the pattern the pilot seemed to use I tried to calculate the next turning point of the speeder and fired the cannons on full auto. "Shooting holes in the air won't…" Grizz voice trailed of as the speeder pilot followed his pattern and directed his craft directly into the gunfire. As Grizz had stated the speeders were fragile, a few hits were enough to cause its frame to fall apart.

"Forget it" was his only comment. "Where are the other ones?"

Two missiles hitting our rear armor where answer enough, several red lights sent their greetings from the console before me. The enemy speeder was close behind us, another direct hit would pierce through the armor so I slammed on the brakes. My maneuver caused Grizz to yawn in pain as his ribs were squeezed once more, but I was rewarded as the enemy vehicle overhauled our shuttle barely able to avoid crashing into it. Suddenly the roles of hunter and prey were reversed and I loosened a storm of bullets. In the middle of this storm the enemy was torn to pieces, its components spraying in all directions.

"Two gone, two left, you're ok?" I asked Grizz while turning around in direction to the med transport firing the thrusters to catch up.

My query was answered by a series of coughs. "Well, have seen better days, but saved our asses, so don't mind me. I'm not a big help, sorry."

"Don't mind, any idea where the others are?"

"Shit no, can't see them." Activating the com unit he asked "Jason, you've got company?"

"Quite so, they gave me something to think about, nearly shitting my pants over here."

"So you have two speeders at your heels?"

"Up to now I can only see one, and this one's keeping me busy, be sure of that. Not a minute ago I could see them both."

"Fuck, the other is hunting the med, you've got to get along alone, we're heading after the other, hope we're not to late."

"Copy, good lu…" His voice was cut off and replaced by random noise.

Grizz glanced at me with a stern and exhausted expression. "Push it to the limits, I fear we will be to late, you know how fast these speeders are. I try to warn the med shuttle."

I nodded, noticing how pale his face looked compared to his usual color. "If I get you to this hospital be sure I admit you too, even if that means knocking you unconscious."

He chuckled, followed by a moan. "Leave that, laughing is not a good idea in the moment, not that we have lots to muse about."

He made contact to the med transport while I forced our shuttle to the very limits, but since the direct hit to the rear the control panel was flashing like a Christmas tree, so the overheat warnings simply added some fancy new colors. "Anything from the med?"

Grizz held up a hand, still listening to his com. "Alright, we're closing in, try to evade them a little bit longer." He faced me with a stern expression. "The speeder just reached them, they are trying to evade it, but since the med is not made for that, we're running out of time. They should be visible soon enough."

"Got it, you're ready for another twist and turn?"

"I'm pretty much fucked up, but don't mind me, get that speeder down at all costs." His pale face expressed grim determination which was only emphasized by the subtle quivering of his body caused by the effort to subdue the pain inside him. _"His broken ribs must have pierced his lungs or other vital organs during the dogfight with the two other speeders, he is going to die soon without medical assistance."_

"Got it again, but I don't wanna miss that particular barrel of ale, drinking alone is half the fun."

The IFF warning beeped as the enemy speeder got into range of the instruments and I returned my attention to the instruments.

"Over there!" Grizz exclaimed pointing at two vehicles about 400 meters to the right and 50 below us. I turned our shuttle in the appointed direction as the smaller one closed in on the other while issuing bullets from its auto cannon. The med transport tried to dodge the attack but it was too dull and easily outclassed by the speeders swiftness. Big chunks of armor and scraps of vital components were ripped off the med, fumes indicated severe damage to the engine as the vehicle slowed down. I was still to far away for a precise shot, but released a couple of bursts hoping to catch a lucky round or break the grip of the speeder on his prey, giving away the element of surprise in the attempt. The med pilot decided that his vehicle had taken enough damage and steered the vehicle rapidly down, hoping to surprise his pursuer. The speeder easily followed the movement but a couple of rounds just hit the air before the pilot was able to lock on his target again. These few seconds were enough for me to close in and bring my weapons to bear on a more comfortable range. As the first rounds struck the speeders upper aft section it finally broke his pursuit, thrusters blazing to evade more hits to its fragile structure.

Grizz released a sigh of relief as my assault rescued the med transport for the moment. It issued a trail of thick smoke and its speed had gradually dropped but it still moved on. Following the faster speeder not too close behind I tried to place our vehicle as obstacle on the way to his prey. In an airborne fight this may seem futile but at least it gave me a short time to react.

"Got you!" I exclaimed as the enemy pilot did exactly what I expected and turned in a sharp bend trying to circumvent us. I closed in on a interception course, eager to teach this one a lesson or two. As I released the trigger to fire my weapons the speeder dived down as if he'd expected this move. Steering the vehicle into another sharp bend which was impossible to follow for our slower shuttle he placed himself behind our craft, weapons blazing.

"Fuck, that one's good!" I yelled as the first rounds struck our already severely damaged rear armor, peeling off the last remains. I tried to dodge and evade the onslaught, but the enemy pilot seemed to anticipate each of my movements. The bullets now hit vital components and when our vehicle lost speed I knew it was over.

Grizz faced me with a calm expression. "It was a pleasure to meet you, don't blame yourself, you did everything you could."

"I won't give up, there must be…" I was interrupted by a bone-shaking impact and the sound of screeching metal. The shuttle spun around and I lost control momentarily as I dashed into the drivers door.

"Fuck that goddam…" I yelled at the consoles, as Grizz moaned and swayed aside, loosing consciousness. I grabbed the steering panels and tried to regain control as we circled down to the nearby buildings. Eventually bringing the shuttle back to an even course I tried to make out our pursuer but was astonished to see another armored shuttle close by, at least the remains of it. By the looks this one would need maintenance for the next couple of weeks. _"Well, I'm sure we pretty much look the same, but no time to waste now, Grizz' time's running out."_

I steered the vehicle in the direction the med transport had taken, the other shuttle placing itself beside me. The pilot greeted me with a grin and I recognized the young human named Jason, somehow he had accomplished to ground the first speeder to be there just in time to rescue us from the second one. _"Have to buy that one a drink, saved our asses today, that's for sure."_

I glanced at Grizz as the Turian moaned and shifted, eyes still shut. "Hold on another few minutes, my friend, help's close by."


	12. Tend to the wounded

Tend to the wounded

We closed in on the med transport short before we reached our destination. As soon as the med transport hit the ground the doors opened and Aria's barrow was dragged to the waiting medical staff. I landed the stuttering shuttle nearby and rushed out, running to the crowd which now surrounded Aria's barge. I addressed one of the medics standing close by who was not involved directly as several doctors were present already. "I've got another patient in there, I guess some broken ribs ruptured something vital during the fight. He's one of her high lieutenant's, 'guess she would be glad if he survives."

He glanced at me, then his view shifted to the remains of our shuttle. "This things' still flying? Hard to believe anyone in there is still alive. Let's see to your patient, if too many mess up on her it won't do any good." He stated then grabbed his equipment and ran over to the shuttle.

I followed him nearby, relieved that I didn't have to convince him further. As we reached the shuttle I opened the door on the passenger's side and stepped back. He scanned Grizz then activated his com unit. "We need another barge here quickly, prepare for a surgery of a turian male, lungs collapsed, probably ruptured by splinters of broken ribs. Hurry, his time's running out."

He opened his case and prepared a shot, which he injected into Grizz' neck. "Hope that holds off the worst." Then he turned around to me. "We take care of him, you can do nothing more for now."

A few moments later another team of doctors and medics emerged from the hospital's entrance. Grizz was moved onto another barge and carried away as quick as possible. The medic gave me a nod and followed them.

I exhaled the tension and glanced around, unsure what to do now as the pilot of the other shuttle came over. "What's up with Grizz, I saw him dragged away on a barge?"

"The injuries he suffered from the firefight in the Afterlife hit back on him. His broken ribs ruptured his lungs, the medic said nothing about his chances, but he said time's running out." I answered, now giving way to the fatigue and dropped myself on a nearby crate. "What about your companion, can't see him around."

Jason's expression turned grave. "Didn't make it, got a stray bullet in the head that pierced through the armor."

"Sorry to hear that, and by the way, thanks for saving our asses out there, this speeder would have blown us to pieces a moment later if not for you. I – we – owe you one, that's for sure"

"Was my pleasure, and he did blow you to pieces anyway, I'm astonished you came out without a scratch." He answered with a glance to our shuttle.

For the first time since we touched down I had a closer look on the remains of it and was dumbfounded as I recognized the devastating damage. The back was more or less stripped of most of the casing and armor, leaving the engine bare to the air. The frame was diminished to a few stray metal rods, it was hard to believe the shuttle didn't explode or the engine didn't just fell down, stripped of his mounting.

"Couldn't believe you were still flying when I surprised that bastard on your heels. By the looks you're on my page as well."

I swallowed once before returning my gaze to the young man. "You're damn right, now that I see it I can't believe it. And I thought your vehicle will need some polishing back there."

"I doubt polishing will do the job, anyway I'm glad you made it, I wonder if we are the only one's still standing right now."

"Could be by the looks, but I hope there will be a replacement soon, I doubt we'll be able to fend off any further attacks, she's not save here. And I've seen enough explosions for the day, guess' I need a glass of good whisky, or better a bottle."

"Count me in, although I prefer a barrel of beer."

"Believe me, that changes gradually if you discover the first shade of grey in your hair." I returned with a grin.

He chuckled. "Heard that before, but for now I would give a year's salary for a good bottle of beer."

Our attention was turned towards the sky as engine noise announced new arrivals. "If this is not what I hope for, we'll at least give them a show." I said turning to the wreck for taking cover, readying my Mantis sniper rifle.

"Last man standing then, it's time for some damn luck, so this better be our reinforcements."

We crouched behind the wreckage as several shuttles descended and touched the ground, immediately followed by troops disembarking.

Jason stood up, obviously recognizing some of his own comrades. "Seems the cavalry has arrived finally, it's about time I say."

I waited a few seconds longer, finally standing up likewise as several soldiers paced towards us as they witnessed Jason.

An older turian male addressed him when they reached our position, giving me a side glance. "Jason, glad to see you alive. Give me a roundup, is she alive?"

"Yes, we barely made it. Gray here and me are the last men standing currently. Aria and Grizz are treated inside, don't know the details. We arrived here just a few minutes ago. What about the other shuttles, anyone made it?"

"Good to hear she's still breathing. Only two of the other crafts made it, the day has seen many corpses already, even for Omega."

A grave expression crept over Jason's face. "So I guess I have to mourn more than one of my friends."

"We lost many good men today, some of them were my comrades for years. But the time for mourning is yet to come, first we have to make sure they didn't die in vain. We're securing the facility now, I presume the two of you could need some rest, at least by the looks of these wrecks. I'll see to get you a lift to the base as soon as possible."

Jason nodded, fighting to keep back the emotions boiling inside him. "Thanks, if our assistance is needed, just give us directions."

With a curt nod in my direction he went off, already speaking into his com unit. I glanced at Jason who was absently looking on the ground. _"I'd like to tell him time will heal, but I know better. Time maybe a healer for some people, for me it's just prolonging the agony."_ For the second time this day old memories rose to the surface, lurking at the edge of my consciousness, always waiting for a weakness in my defences. _"Fuck this, why I'm still fighting? Only to witness the day I'm placing a bullet in my head to get rid of these memories? 'Should get it done an be over with…"_

Jason interrupted my thoughts. "Let's get in and find something to drink. And maybe we get some news about Aria and Grizz while we're waiting."

I nodded my approval and followed him, the guards now staying sentry at the doors greeted him as we approached the building. "Tough fight by the looks, got some kicks in the ass, especially that one over there, a miracle you made it."

Jason pointed at me. "He and Grizz had some close friends at their heels as I reached them."

"A second later and I'm sure we've put up some nice fireworks. Jason saved our butts, the last one was a hell of a pilot." I confirmed his words.

The guard glanced at me now. "Grizz was with you? Where's the old dreadnought, didn't see him around.

"He was wounded in the fire fight back in the club, our little trip with that wreckage over there caused his broken ribs to rupture the lungs, he's currently treated. I hope he will make it, kinda got to like him since we first met this morning."

"This morning? So you must be new, you chose the wrong day to hire in, earned your wages today, that's for sure."

I grinned at that comment. "Kind of, and I thought the morning was a nightmare. I certainly could use a barrel of ale to get lost."

"No doubt about that. Get in, the two of you. Would be great you keep us updated, if you happen to hear some news."

Jason answered this time, opening the door. "Sure, we're hoping for some news likewise."

We went through several corridors before reaching a small reception where three guards observed the area and the other entrances. Jason addressed them, obviously recognizing some familiar faces. "Hi guys, you've got any news? You happen to know where we get something to drink?

A human guard answered his questions. "No and no, sorry, but down this corridor is the main hall of this floor, best guess you'll find something to drink there."

Jason nodded. "Thanks for the directions, see ya"

We took the indicated corridor and entered the main hall. As assumed we found an automat for beverages, bought something and sat down on a nearby bench and silently pondered the events of the day.

"_Unbelievable, all of this, I arrived merely a day ago running from one shitstorm to the next, catching myself more trouble than I can handle on the long run. And then there's this Asari, don't have a clue what to make of this. Summed up I'm stranded on the worst pisshole of known space, half of the inhabitants are after the bounty for my head, an Asari maiden in the backpack and madness closing in on my heels, waiting for the final breakthrough. Seems I'm playing against all odds, but who cares since I've got nothing to lose beside a head full of grief and pain."_

A soft sob made me turn around and take a look at my young companion. He was obviously shaken by the day's events, now that he came to a rest. As he was looking down to the floor, couldn't see his eyes but his wet cheeks told me the truth. "Are you alright? Your co-pilot, was he a close friend to you?"

He nodded and answered with a hoarse voice. "Cut to the roots he was the only true friend I ever had, I grew up in the worst slums of earth, you're lucky if you survive, no time for friends and family there."

"If you want to speak about it, I'm listening, if you prefer to stay calm and get drunk later that day, it's also fine with me. I'm through all of this, and there's plenty of ways to handle it – or not, that can also happen…"

"Guess ya' know somethin' bout that…I never regretted my decision to become a mercenary, at least until now. Even that year with the Blue Suns wasn't too bad after all, I learned a lot, even if its things I don't want."

"Nearly every experience is worth something, well, nearly…" My voice trailed off and again my mind was flooded with emotions bringing a searing pain with them."

Jason looked at me in awe. "Sorry if I brought something up, by the looks this was something you couldn't handle."

My voice was nothing more than a distant whisper. "I'm waking up with it and I'm going to bed with it, during the day it is always there, crouching at the back of my mind, waiting, sneaking, unleashing itself more and more often. I tried to run, to hide, but the faster I run the closer it is on my heels."

Jason was silent, and I recognized my own words only now, shaking myself. "I'm sorry, lost my wits. Didn't want to scare you. What happened to me had nothing to do with being a merc, actually I call myself that way only since a short time after."

"Guess you don't delve deeper there, you just scared me with that bitter sadness in your eyes."

"Right, don't dig out the devil, at least not right now. Should we try to get some news?"

"Kinda would be more interested in a shower and a place to rest, but as things are, I'm not gonna see this happening for quite a while. So let's get going."

I realized how tired I was myself as I witnessed the turian officer we met before approaching us without I even noticed he had entered the hallway. "Well guys, as things are we secured the whole floor and I can spare two shuttles for a lift back to the base, two of my men will accompany you in the second shuttle. Your shuttle will stay in the base cause they're a 'little short on vehicles right now and need one. Be ready and keep your coms activated, we may need you sooner as you like it, all right?"

"Understood, and thanks for the ride." I replied, relieved to get out of that armour sooner as expected.

For the second time this day the flight was undisturbed, we both were silent, the day had taken its toll. We arrived at the base and headed for the elevator, Jason had a room on the same floor, not far away from the one my Asari companion and me occupied. Jason addressed me in front of his room. "Guess we have to postpone our little beer and whisky feast for some time, but let's not forget about it."

"Count on it, I hope we can invite Grizz, he said something about a lot of ale before he went out."

"Yeah, kinda like that old warhound, he's a lot of tales to tell once he gets started."

"Can imagine that, for now try to get some rest, I'll do likewise."

I left him heading for our room and opened the door. As I entered the room, two dark blue eyes full of sorrow fixed on me immediately, moving up and down, seemingly searching for injuries. "I'm glad to see you in one piece, there was a lot of turmoil an hour ago, lots of shuttles started, the whole base seemed to be in a flurry."

"There was an attempt to assassinate Aria in her domicile in the Afterlife, they were partially successful as she suffered severe wounds." I was right in the middle of the shitstorm, Grizz and me had a nice little rollercoaster ride to escort her med transport. Compared to that our trip this morning was a weekend jaunt." I recounted the whole story while I got rid of my armour plating.

"Seems you had a terrible day, I guess you are tired and need some rest, so I spare you the story about the thrilling events that came to pass in this room while you were away, unless you need a bedtime story that is."

I couldn't help but smile on that comment. "You're really astonishing, and you know it, right? You just used the kind of humour humans are so fond of as if you never did something else."

She smiled back. "Thanks for the flowers, but you exaggerate. This was unintentionally, it just slipped out."

"Well, if that is true, you just confirmed what I said. Anyway I'd like to have a shower now, guess I'm smelling like wild boar in rutting season."

She raised her left eyebrow inquisitively. "I'm sure I never saw a boar, nor did I smell one, and I guess I won't like it either. So be off with you."

I grabbed some fresh clothes and headed for the shower, eager to get rid of the days remnants. As the warm water streamed down my body I immediately felt refreshed. _"Sometimes the simple things are best to get you back on track, anyway I should get some rest, guess the days' not over yet."_

I donned my clothes and exited the bathroom. To my surprise the light was dimmed down and Serena was sitting on the bed, her beautiful face wearing a smile. "I thought you cold need a few hours of rest, feel free to turn off the light, I'm tired enough to sleep a little as well. Waiting anxiously not knowing what's going on is taxing enough."

"I'm sorry you've to endure all of this, this was clearly not what I had in mind in the first place."

"Stop apologizing, if not for you I had nothing to bother right now, I would be a dead corpse in the streets of Omega, one more no one's counting. But since you've mentioned it, what did you have in mind?" The questions was accompanied by a mischievous smile.

"I don't have a clue, at that very moment my veins were brimming with adrenaline, time and thought seem to blur, everything's in slow motion except the body."

"Really? I never felt that way, that's maybe what distinguishes a skilled soldier from the common people, I felt only fear and panic."

"Guess you're right, I still feel the fear, but it is not dominating my actions in such situations."

I laid down on the bed and immediately felt the urge to close my eyes and give in to the exhaustion. "Now that I release the tension I feel like being up and running since two days without sleep."

"Then I wish you pleasant dreams, my guardian angel, sleep well."

I wanted to respond something but was carried away to fast as the day took its toll.


	13. Leader of the pack

**Leader of the pack**

I woke up a couple of hours later as the communicator chimed, Serena was up and answered the call faster then I could shrug of my sleepiness.

"Hi" a short break "Wait, I'll turn on the loudspeakers, so he can hear you."

"Ok, thanks" came the answer this time through the loudspeakers.

I shook off the remaining sleepiness and answered. "Gray here, I'm listening".

"Hi, it's Sagrin, Grizz' superior officer. Your presence is required in the cafeteria, we've got a meeting there in 30 minutes to inform everybody about the recent events. Afterwards I've got some updates and a new task for you."

"Ok, we're coming down, thanks." The communicators light turned off as he ended the call.

"Seems you don't get a rest" Serena commented with a little snort, obviously disapproving the short amount of time they had granted me to recover.

"I expected nothing else. I was in the middle of things, and I guess I've proven my trustworthiness. Considering what has happened today, it is quite possible that someone inside the organization plays for the other side. So they need everyone they can count on."

Serena thought about my answer and nodded. "Guess you're right, so let's get moving, I feel like a cue-ball in a game I can't influence, but for the moment I have no choice."

"And I'm really sorry for that, you know that" I answered with regret in my voice.

"Don't get started, I told you I don't blame you for it, and I say it again: without you the game would be already over!" she retorted with blazing eyes.

"Ok, ok, I got the message, and the cue-ball feeling is mutual. Don't know where all this started, I definitively had no hand in all this, at least none I know off." I answered chuckling. "Don't wanna stand in your way if you get really furious."

She released her breath and her features softened immediately. "Now I'm sorry, if you're not the one to blame for that mess I shouldn't shout at you. But let's get moving, maybe we can grab some food before the gathering."

"Now that you mentioned it I'm starving. Let me jump into my armour, I bet I'll need it."

I donned my armour and grabbed my weapons while Serena took a quick shower, 15 minutes later we both went for the elevator.

"What do you think they'll have in mind for you?" she asked me on the way.

"Two possibilities: To catch someone they want to…let's say _interview_ or they want me to blow something or someone to hell, I guess it's the latter one."

"Both sound dangerous if you ask me, but you seem to be absolutely calm, did you see too much blood and death to dare or is it because you don't care if you live or die?".

I swallowed before answering _"If all Asari are that perceptive, they should be feared as the most dangerous predator in the universe. She reads me like an open book…"._

"Kinda read me like an open book, do you? To tell you the truth I think it's a mixture of both, I have seen a lot of blood, death and mayhem in my life, so you get kinda' used to it. On the other side I'm currently figuring out if I don't care about myself, at least I always believed I am searching for someone who is able to put a bullet in my head."

"That sounds very ominous and mysterious, and even if I can see or feel your current mood, I am unable to detect the source of your brooding and self-endangering state of mind." She replied looking at me as we reached the elevator, Jason already waiting in front of it.

I quickly changed the topic, addressing the young pilot with a smirk. "Hi Mr. lifesaver, may I introduce you to Serena, I recently picked her up during a little fire-fight. Serena, this is Jason, he saved our asses this morning."

"Now that's an introduction. It seems you always make friends when the air is laden with bullets. Please count me in for your next fire-fight if you always pick up such kind of company." He replied with a broad grin.

"And it is nice to meet you, too. I can assure you that I am the only one he picked up, at least recently." Serena continued. "But I can only account for the last two days, so I cannot be sure."

Before I could reply the elevator arrived and we went down along with lots of other people, all of them anxious to hear the news about to come. We headed for the cafeteria and acquired some food and drinks before the announcement started. The room was crowded soon as more and more people arrived, eager to hear some news about the recent events. The whole room was brimming with anticipation, the tension was nearly tangible and the people gathered in groups and discussed the rumours in low voices.

Shortly afterwards the Turian officer I had met in the hospital just a few hours before climbed up a desk and demanded attention, the room fell silent except some hushed whispers. The Turian's mandibles flared as his gaze swept over the crowd. His features resembled a longer life than most mercenaries could expect, together with an old scar on his left cheek, his appearance was grim but determined, he issued an aura of authority.

"I'd like to inform you about recent events and the course of action we are going to take in the near future. I will tell you now what happened this morning, afterwards please proceed to your officers, they will give you your orders for the day." He made a short pause scanning the crowd again. "An unknown enemy attempted to assassinate Aria this morning in the Afterlife. She was severely injured but survived, and as the surgeons told us, she will survive most likely but it will take some time before she will be recovered fully. On our way to the hospital we were attacked again by a host of different vehicles but managed to escape. Our losses were severe, so we need every one of you to stabilize the organization. Be prepared to face more attacks, this is not over yet. Please proceed now to your officers for further instructions." He finished with a nod, scanning the crowd again, which was calm now, most faces wearing stern expressions. After a few seconds he jumped to the floor, immediately accompanied by an Asari.

"I'll go meet him to get my instructions, guess he's the one that told us to be here." I left Serena and headed for the Turian who still stood in front of the desk as I arrived. I greeted him with a nod. "I'm Grayson Carlyle, you told me to address you after the announcement."

He looked at me inquisitively, seemingly comparing my appearance with what he'd heard about me and finally returned my greeting. "It's good to see you again and in one piece, as I've heard you saved her life and had a rough ride to the hospital."

"I'm still wondering how this wreck still held itself in the air, but we made it, yes. Speaking of that, how's Grizz' doing?"

"Actually the old warhound is better than expected, I already talked to him, but only for a few minutes before the drugs took him away to wonderland again. But I'm sure he'll make it, and he told me to thank you, and that the two of you are even now."

I grinned on that message. "Well, he certainly hasn't lost his humour, I'm glad to hear that! If you see him next time, please give him my best wishes and also from Serena.

You said you've got a task for me to do?".

"Right, but this is confidential, so let's go somewhere else." With that he turned around, indicating me to follow him. We moved through the crowd, some of the faces turning by regarding me suspiciously. We went through several locked doors until we reached a small room with no windows, the only furniture a small desk and 4 chairs.

The Turian sat down and suggested me to sit down likewise.

"I am Sagrin, the leading security officer of this organization. Grizz is one of my executives, and a good friend, besides that. I was told you played a key role in the events of this morning, and you saved the life of my boss at least once, if not twice." He made a short pause and glanced at me, his features still unreadable before continuing. "We believe that the attempt to kill her was only possible because we have a mole in our own ranks. Because of your actions this morning you – an outsider to the organization – are one of the few persons whom I trust in the moment. So everything I tell you from this point is confidential, you will tell nobody about this conversation except Grizz or me, is that understood?"

I nodded my approval. "I more or less came to the same conclusion and expected this."

"That speaks for you. As I already said I've got a job for you to do. Your revelations this morning together with the turmoil the assassination attempt aroused in the stations' network we were able to detect one of the culprits and its current location. We are almost sure he is the originator, he pulled the trigger."

He handed me some pictures showing the same individual – a batarian - I had identified on another picture together with the information broker Garviel this morning. "Aria said he is not powerful enough to claim her position, he must be part of something bigger."

"We believe the same, but he is the only target we have in the moment, and we rather reply to this insult then waiting for the pack to attack the wounded leader."

I nodded on that analogy. "Without knowing much about Omega's hierarchies that makes sense, it is better to show the pack the leading wolf has not lost its bite."

"Right, and therefore it is crucial that you act as soon as possible, but it will be difficult to reach him. We located him in his headquarter, not too far away from here, and I'm pretty sure none of his guards are on vacation."

"An assassination will be very difficult then, I cannot attack a whole building on my own."

"Again you're right, and that's why your first task is to inspect the intelligence data I transferred to the workstation in your room and develop possible scenarios for an attack. Money is no obstacle, and if you need support we will hire other mercs according to your needs. No one in this organization except me, Grizz and a few selected individuals will know about the whole operation."

"I'll examine the data and report back to you. I may have a suggestion concerning the mercs to be hired. A small team of specialists I worked with in the past is currently staying on Omega. They recently finished a job and are looking for a new one. They're professional, reliable and work as a team."

"If you think they are trustworthy we will check them, send me their files. Any other questions besides that, 'cause I have to leave soon.?" Sagrin's face was still calm but grim, his eyes showing no sign of the storm around him. He stood up indicating the briefing was over.

I stood up likewise and nodded. "No questions, and thanks' for the briefing, I will immediately start to work on the files."

We left the room together. "You remember the way back? Your security profile has been enhanced, you have clearance for most areas in the ground floor now. I have to go to another briefing."

"I'll find my way back, thanks, I contact you tomorrow morning to tell you the actual status."


	14. Paperwork

**Paperwork**

With a last nod we parted and I walked back to the cafeteria where Serena still waited, seemingly deep in thoughts. She looked up as I approached her, a hint of a smile showing up when she recognized me. "My guardian angel is back, I already presumed he had to fly elsewhere."

I couldn't help but smile myself on that comment. "May I offer my protégé a flight back to our loft?"

Her smile broadened. "I would appreciate that, this place is a little crowded for my likings."

I poured myself another coffee and we headed back to our room, on the way Serena stayed silent although I could see that she was eager to hear some news. _"I wonder if she doesn't ask any questions because she presumes I cannot speak outside our room. Wouldn't surprise me at least."_

We reached our room and once we were in Serena's curiousness broke through. "So tell me what's up? Do you have a task to do? Can I help somehow? May I…"

I interrupted the flood of questions. "Shhh, take a breath and let me explain one after the other." But first let me replace the jamming unit – just in case."

"Ok, now we're safe to speak. I shouldn't tell you about it, but as I see it, it doesn't matter as long as you don't talk about anything to others, right?"

She sat down on the bed and nodded, so I continued to explain my task and the current status. She listened carefully and visibly calmed down, whether this was due to the fact I had not to leave immediately or just that she finally got some news I couldn't make out.

"For now I have to work on the intelligence Sagrin gave me, maybe you can help me, but I have to have a look at the data first." I concluded my summary.

"Ok then, I won't disturb you, but I would appreciate if you'd find something to do for me, another day of waiting will drive me nuts." She looked at me with these bright midnight blue eyes and I could see the fear mingling at the corners betraying her otherwise calm features.

"_Maybe it is better to invest a few minutes here, an Asari running wild won't help me to work concentrated for a longer period of time in the same room."_

I took a chair and sat down opposite to her and hesitated, unsure how to move on. _"Damn, how do you calm down an Asari maiden? Should I touch her or not? Sha'lea told me once that physical contact has not the same meaning in Asari culture than it has for most other species, they prefer physical contact to express their feelings and words not only to their partners."_

In that moment a gentle blue hand touched my cheek, bringing me back to reality – and besides that – confirming my memories about Asari.

"Gray? What's up? Why do you sit down and front of me only to look on the wall? I thought you have lots of work to do?"

"I'm sorry, I was taken away." With that I took her hands and looked into her eyes. "I can see the fear behind those eyes, and if I can do anything to quench it a little, I'll do it." I gently squeezed her hands. "I can understand why you are afraid, and I hope all this will be over soon. I don't know how I can help you, but if there's anything, just tell me."

Her eyes still locked to mine, a warm smile appeared in her face. "You already did enough, and I can see this is not easy for you and that makes it even more precious. Maybe you can do something, but…" Her voice trailed off.

"no but, just say…" I was cut off by surprise as she suddenly stood up, using her hands which I still held to gently but firmly drag me up likewise. She let go of my hands and slung her arms around me in an embrace and buried her head between my shoulder and throat. "Just hold me for a minute, this will do." Her muffled voice was barely loud enough to hear it.

I wrapped my arms around her, not knowing what to answer on this request and how I should interpret it. _"Maybe I shouldn't interpret it at all, what Sha'lea said seems to be true, physical contact is part of the Asari culture and I guess she had not much of that in the past weeks or months. And besides, this is the first time I let someone close enough to do this since…since my life ended and this hell-bent trip started."_ Although the close contact to a woman – or a being which almost resembled a woman's body – made me tremble as it brought back a flood of memories and pictures burnt into my mind, despite all this her embrace soothed me partially. _"Maybe this little trick of her hers again."_

She loosened her grip and let go, now standing in front of me, her eyes resembling care instead of fear. "Thank you Gray, this really helped. But I could feel that it wasn't as easy for you, your whole body seemed to tremble a little, I'm sorry if I aroused unpleasant memories, I shouldn't have done that. I'm really sorry." She broke eye contact and lowered her gaze to the floor.

I gently lifted her head again using my index finger. "No, don't be sorry, it's ok. It's just…the last time someone embraced me that way…it was in another life, one where I was happy and content with it…" Now I lowered my head, a knot in my throat.

She put a finger on my lips. "Shhh, it's ok, you don't have to explain, not here, not now, just know this: If you ever decide to accept your past, I'm here, I am there for you like you are there for me, even if I still don't understand what drives you to protect me. Enough for now, you have work to do, and the sooner you've done with it, the sooner we can leave all this behind."

I just nodded and turned around to activate the workstation. "This will be a nightmare, searching for a loop-hole to sneak in that very well might not exist at all."

"As I said, give me anything to do and I'll be eager to help you!"

"I know, first let me have a look what we have." I replied already a little absent as I opened the files Sagrin had sent me.

The provided material was quite good, it contained a complete blueprint including all floors of the building my target inhabited – it was smaller but quite comparable to the one we're occupied right now - along with files about guards, their change routines, manpower and other defensive systems. A lot of close-up detail pictures of my target – a batarian male - and his favourite places, clubs and restaurants gave me a first impression about his habits, although I was pretty sure he won't leave his refugee for quite a while, leaving most of the information useless. Another big part was profiles of his employees, mercs and other personnel in his service, altogether a couple of hundred pages. Realizing the full scale of my task I ushered a sigh of resignation as I always hated the paperwork most.

"Are you alright?" Serena asked in a low voice

"Yeah, I just realized how much I always hated paperwork and how much this actually is."

"Well, you know I help if I can."

"Speaking of that, maybe I actually have something to do for you. Part of this data is profiles about people of his organization or related to him, it is quite possible that the key to this is somewhere in this data, but first I have to concentrate on the building and my target itself."

"If you tell me what to look for…and I hope I don't miss something substantial…maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all." Serena's disappointment was almost tangible as she said this.

"No, if you can have a first look and highlight possibly interesting profiles this will be a big help for the beginning, I'll tell you what to look for. You can use my Omni-tool, I upload the data and you can start, ok?"

She was beaming on the prospect to help me with anything finally. "Ok? Of course this is ok, I am happy to help you, regardless what it is."

"_Guess she feels guilty for being a millstone around the neck and wants to do something useful__"_ Her eagerness upon this boring work amused me quite a bit and I couldn't keep myself from laughing. "Sorry, but you look too cute being so eager to get handed over a bunch of paperwork which would scare off a financial clerk."

She threw a pillow after me and scored a hit. "I'm just happy I can help you for once." With that she crossed her arms and tried to look angry.

"I really appreciate your eagerness to help me, and…" I managed to usher still chuckling. "And I'm sorry but you really looked cute…by the way, the latter hasn't changed a bit."

This time she couldn't help but giving up her angry pose and start laughing herself. After we both had calmed down a little she looked at me with a smirk. "Ok, you've won this time. And now, back to work, or we will end up with nothing to tell this Turian."

I handed her over my Omni-tool, the files already opened. "Here are the files, please look out for uncommon things, or also habits which we can use, for example if someone regularly uses drugs or other addicts, visits special places or establishments. Things you usually wouldn't tell your boss, but you'll keep doing it, even if its forbidden."

"I am not sure if I can detect everything, but I'll try, but you shouldn't rely on that alone." She replied, seemingly a little overstrained with the task.

"I won't but if you can sort out possible candidates I am going to take a closer look on them first, with a bit of luck I don't need to dig too deep. By the way you showed quite a bit of comprehension in the little time we spent together, I'm confident you're up to the task."

She nodded, seemingly relieved the final judgement wouldn't be her responsibility. We both concentrated on our tasks for quite some time until I realized that I nearly fell asleep in front of the screen. The day had grown old and I could feel it in every bone and muscle. _"I have to come up with something, something substantial before tomorrow."_

I stood up looking after Serena. "I'll go fetch myself a coffee, you need anything?

"We've got enough water supplies here, nothing for me then, except you know something that keeps me from falling asleep."

The reply made me grin. "Well, that's exactly what coffee does actually, at least to humans, I don't know if caffeine has any effect on Asari."

"Hm, as you are so fond of it, I might be tempted to try one. What do you think, would I like it?" She looked at me inquisitively, her head slightly tilted.

"I really cannot tell, if you use a little sweetener you may describe it as bittersweet, but I guess there's nothing really comparable in your culture as the plant it is made from is originated on earth."

"Anyway, I'll try one, and if I don't like it I am sure you'll jump in for me."

"Sounds like a plan, be right back!"

The cafeteria was nearly empty, I prepared two coffees and went back. _"I definitively need some sleep, I'm totally wasted, not a big surprise considering the events of the day – unbelievable all this happened in-between 12 hours."_ My thoughts trailed back and forth on the way, eventually concluding on my little blue roommate. _"I'm beginning to understand why so many of my folks are so fond of Asari, if they are this sensual in all things they do…oh hell…she needs someone to lean on and I have nothing better to do then interpret a lot more into it…and besides, I should try to focus on myself, 'got enough ghosts nagging on my sanity already…"_

I reached the door to our room and opened it, Serena looked up from the Omni-tool, a warm and welcoming smile on her face. "Welcome back, I really hope this works, otherwise I'm falling asleep in an instant."

"Same to me, and anyway I won't continue for too long, the day was taxing enough by all standards, I can feel every bone and muscle." I replied returning her smile in kind and handing over her coffee. "Taste it first without any additions, if it is too bitter for your likings try to add a little sugar." I held up 2 small packages. "And be careful, it is quite hot.

She took the cup in both hands and held it below her head. "mmhhh, it definitively smells great! I could just sit here and inhale it all the time.

"Even most humans who don't like coffee like the smell of it, by the way this is a comparable old habit of my species, this plant is grown and brewed since hundreds of years." I added with confidence. _"Wow, you're the cool guy, hundreds of years, that's not even the average lifetime of an Asari, quite impressing."_

Her smirk confirmed my thought's. "Hundreds of years is not that much for an Asari, but anyway it is one of your oldest customs as I understood it."

"I thought exactly the same after I said it…for you the time must feel different. I cannot even imagine how it is to be a thousand years old, in your eyes I must be a little child, barely capable to leave the house alone."

The smirk turned into a smile. "Not exactly, if you were an Asari you would be right, although we consider a thirty year old not a child any more – at least physically. Usually the first century of our lives is dedicated to learning the different arts in life, this can be culture, history, religion and so on but also warfare and combat. An Asari is usually free to choose her way in life" Her gaze lowered at these last words and the smile left her face completely.

"This time sad memories got the better of you as it seems." I just stated.

She looked up again, her eyes watered slightly. "You're right, but I don't want to speak about it – something we have in common."

"And I won't question that." I made a short pause, unsure what to add, changing the topic. "I would propose to have a look at what you've found yet and then we go to sleep, I'm absolutely sure that an additional page of this data over there will drop my head to the desk immediately."

She cleared her throat. "Right, but first I try the coffee." She took a mouthful of the hot black liquid and left it in her mouth before she swallowed it. "It is…special is the only word I can think about in the moment."

I chuckled "That's the equivalent to _I don't like it but I won't admit it_, right?"

She looked at me in surprise. "No, that's not what I wanted to say, it is unlike everything I had before, and you are right, it's a little too bitter for my likings, but I try this – how did you call it – sugar?"

"Yes, sugar. It's a sweetener made from a plant grown on earth, but I'm pretty sure this is artificial. 'Will have the same effect though."

She sweetened her coffee and tried again, this time seemingly happier with the taste. "That's better, now I understand what you meant with bittersweet. I fear I have to deny you the second cup, you shouldn't have brought the sugar along."

"I'm glad you like it, now I can send you two fetch us two cups all the time."

"We'll talk about that again, but now let's have a look at the files, despite the coffee the fatigue is getting the better of me. Although I fear there's not much I have to share, maybe one or two candidates, I'm sorry…"

I interrupted her. "Stop it! Don't apologize for something you cannot be blamed for." And immediately regretted my harsh voice. "Now I'm sorry, you don't deserve this harsh tone."

"Now we're both sorry, great job!" She replied, but her eyes were smiling again. "Anyway let's have a look." She turned around, picked up the Omni-tool and opened the first file.

"This is my favourite. It's the stepbrother of this batarian and therefore has some rank in his organization. As the file describes it he doesn't take his duties too serious and tends to use drugs."

I checked the dossier quickly realizing that Serena had scored a potential goal. "You surprise me again, this seems to be perfect on first sight. Let me read through it."

"_And here's the __loop-hole! Who needs foes if he has such relatives?"_

I turned my attention back to Serena, who was seemingly awaiting my judgement, half-believing that I would be disappointed. "Have a look at this paragraph, that's perfect."

After reading it she turned her gaze upon me, he eyes widened in surprise. "The profile says he is addicted to Asari and haven't had other partners since years. And why is the fact that he quite often has sex with Asari prostitutes perfect? Do you think about using me as a bait?" Now her voice trembled slightly.

I held up my hands in defence. "No, no, no, this has nothing to do with you! Let me explain it before you get mad at me!

I need to catch him outside of the headquarter. I am pretty sure his brother doesn't allow prostitutes in his building right now, so he has to go outside even if it is forbidden in the moment. Presuming that he will continue to entertain himself we should be able to set up a trap for him."

Serena visibly calmed down and released her breath, her face wearing regret now. "I'm so sorry for thinking that way about you, you certainly gave me no reason to believe this." She touched my arm, these fathomless eyes locked on mine.

I squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Given the facts you know about me this is not really surprising. By the way, the idea itself is interesting, I'll talk to Sagrin who could act as a bait.

And now let's get some sleep, I feel like been hit by a Krogan – which is partially true."


	15. About plans and variables

**About plans and variables**

I met Sagrin early the next morning after I had requested to see him shortly before. He had ordered me to get to the same room we had used the day before. As I reached the door he was already waiting for me and offered me a handshake. "Hope you recovered from yesterdays events, doesn't get much better, that's for sure."

"Yes, after a good night's sleep I feel much better, yesterday evening I felt like being hit by a Krogan." I replied with a nod.

"Ok, then let's see what you have." He opened the door and placed himself on the same chair like yesterday. "By the way Grizz is awake I shall greet you from him, Aria is still treated and unconscious but stable now. You have saved her butt, my friend, and it seems you're going to play a key role in our counter-attack."

"And all because I declined a job offer and unintentionally accepted another job." I answered a skew smile playing around my mouth.

"Life is about decisions and consequences, you made one and this is the outcome. I cannot pretend to be unhappy with your decision. Maybe you would have been successful where the other assassin failed." He stated still wearing his composed expression.

"Same for me, as things are I'm better off right now I guess. Anyway I'd like to inform you about my advances concerning my target. Have a look at this file about one of his higher officers, namely his stepbrother." I showed him the details and pointed out the important paragraphs. "My idea would be to lure him into a prepared room with an Asari as bait and obtain his access codes and possible key cards."

"Sounds like the best we have and we're running out of time. But move on, what happens after we successfully convinced this guy to help us?"

"Our target seems to be located in the uppermost floor – the sixth, so it would be a big advantage if I could sneak in from the roof, but it will be very difficult to get there unnoticed."

"I agree it will be tricky to get to the roof, but to get to the 6th floor without being seen from the ground is even more unlikely. Maybe we can arrange a diversion attack and drop you off with a shuttle. Anyway you'll also need an evacuation and if we're going to catch you on the roof someone has to secure the area. Any suggestions on that?" He queried me.

I brought up what I had already mentioned before. "I've sent you the files about the mercenary troop, they could be quite helpful here."

"I've checked the files myself, can you contact and invite them as soon as possible?"

"I'll do that immediately. There's one other issue, who's gonna be the bait? We need an Asari, preferably not too old who is able to catch his interest."

Sagrin offered a wry smile, one of the first occasions he actually showed a sense of humour or emotion. "I've got the perfect fit for that, wait a sec, try to call her."

He activated his com trying to reach her while I played through the scenario we just developed. _"First we have to catch the right moment to get this guy, then we need to convince him to give us the necessary information. The next step has to follow swiftly, starting the diversion attack and securing the rooftop while I sneak in to kill the guy. That's a lot of maybes and ifs in there, kinda likely that this plan doesn't live longer than the first enemy contact."_

Sagrin deactivated the com unit and returned his attention to me. "She will be here in about 10 minutes. Something else we have to consider? It's a bold plan, lots of pieces have to fall in place."

"I thought exactly the same while you called our bait. There's one other thing I didn't consider yet. He will have guards and they will be on high alert. I may be good, but I'm a sniper, not a Krogan Warlord on stims. Depending on their numbers this can get tough."

"Don't tell her she's a bait, I'm pretty sure you'd regret it in a minute." He chuckled, the second time he showed some humour. "Anyway you're right, no need to risk the whole operation if we are that far already. If you get in without being noticed your Krogan friend should accompany you while the others secure the roof."

"Sounds like a plan then, I…" I was interrupted as the door opened suddenly and an Asari stepped in and closed the door behind her. Her beautiful features were accompanied by purple skin and the common coloured pattern in her face and an aura of self-confidence. _"Now that I think about it Serena doesn't have those patterns, would be curious to know what's behind that feature."_

My thoughts were interrupted by Sagrin. "May I introduce you to Liselle, she is absolutely trustworthy and I am sure she's up to the task. Liselle, this is Grayson Carlyle, the guy who saved the day by all accounts."

She nodded in my direction with a smile although it didn't reach her eyes. "Good to meet you, I heard a lot about yesterdays events and your part in it. But enough pleasantries for now, Sagrin told me the two of you have come up with a plan to teach Mr. traitor a lesson or two and I'm gonna be part of it."

Sagrin nodded. "Quite so, Grayson has had a look upon the profiles I gave him and he has found some interesting details about the targets stepbrother. This guy seems to be addicted to Asari and quite often fulfils his desires with prostitutes."

Liselle eyes seemed to glow and her smile turned mean. "So I'm gonna lure this bastard into our trap. A plan to my likings, I presume you don't wanna send him back, right?"

"At least not as long as the whole operation is over." I offered already knowing the answer.

"I'm gonna cut him to pieces, make him suffer for what they did to Aria." Her voice was ferocious, betraying her composed features.

"I won't hinder you but safe something for the true opponent, this can be only the servant not the master mind behind all this." Sagrin's soothing voice showed his experience with Liselle.

"Don't worry old dreadnaught, no one gets missed I'll take care of that." She snapped back.

"_Her wrath__ is genuine, that's for sure. But if she's just a trusted member of the inner circle this doesn't explain it, and Sagrin said she is absolutely trustworthy so maybe a relative. 'Should keep that in mind."_

My thoughts were interrupted as Liselle addressed me. "When are we going to start and where?"

I fixed my gaze on her now. "the profile indicates that he has no preferred partners, he seems to wander about certain areas until he finds something he likes. That's where you jump in."

She raised an eye. "Certain areas? I am pretty sure I've got names for these places, and Omega has lots of those. Your plan indicates we need to observe and follow him, we arrange that immediately." Her gaze turned to Sagrin, obviously delegating this task to him.

"I'll take care of that, the two of you have to be ready all the time. Grayson, please invite those mercs, the sooner the better. We're going to need them."

I nodded to both of them and stood up. "I'll do that right now, see you around.

With that I left the room and headed back to the elevator. _"I hope they're still available and accept the job. This will be thrilling enough with someone at my side I can trust."_

Back in our lodge I gave Serena a short summary and used the com unit to contact Racen as a first try and got lucky as he picked up with a simple "Yes?"

"Hi Racen, it's Gray"

"Gray! You're alive, glad to hear that! Sha'lea tried to contact you yesterday and was informed you'd left in a hurry with a Turian, gunfire included." He ushered, seemingly relieved to hear my voice. "Where are…" His voice was cut off and some muffled bumps and rasps could be heard only to be replaced by Sha'lea. "Sorry to interrupt, but I had to hear your voice myself. Where are you? Are you in trouble? Do you need help?"

"Hi Sha', I'll answer all your questions but let me ask one of my own first. Do you already have a new assignment?" I couldn't help but smile while saying this.

Her voice sounded curious as she answered. "no, we're not, but where's the catch rigth now?

"Because in that case I've got a new job for you and I invite you to meet me as soon as possible. I'll explain everything in detail once you're here."

"Oh, ok, wait a sec." I heard some muffled voices then Sha'lea again. "Don't know where Gatok is but he'll come with us anyway, so tell us where we meet."

_Two hours later__ at Arias HQ_

Sagrin was awaiting the three of them together with me in the main hall. Racen was the first to emerge from the security stripped of his weapons.

He grinned and came over to us. "If not for you I would have taught them a lesson not to touch my weapons with their greedy fingers."

"I should have warned you 'bout that, sorry. May I introduce you to Sagrin, he's the chief security officer and you can redirect your complaints directly to him." I replied returning his grin in kind.

The two turians eyed each other before Sagrin nodded and welcomed him. "Gray here recommended you and your comrades, but we take no chances especially since yesterday."

"Quite understandable, yesterdays events are for sure the most discussed topic in the moment. I presume you want to hire us because of that."

"Right, but no details now, the briefing will be in a secured area." Sagrin answered.

The next to join our tea party was Sha'lea. "Old Sagrin, always good to see you again, unexpected but not unwelcome."

I couldn't hide my surprise about this opening completely _"This will make things easier, this woman has a widely spread network."_

Sagrin seemed to be not surprised. "Sha'lea, I can return your compliments in kind. I read the name in your profile, but couldn't be sure if it's really you. Good to have you with us…ah, there's your Krogan friend and the team is complete."

Gatok stepped out of the security, obviously aroused by the necessity to leave his weaponry behind. "This' better be worth it Gray, these guys are lucky Sha'lea held me back, would have made a big mess, that's for sure!" He exclaimed as he approached us.

Sagrin showed a skew smile. "And this must be the famous Gatok, if we have time I'd like to hear some of the glories you must have witnessed."

"_This guy is __much more than the first looks. Sha'lea must have told him about Gatok, and the easiest way to tame him is to caress him with his glories of the past. I have to make sure not to be around when they really find the time, not that this is very likely."_

The words had a visible effect on the Krogan, his anger vanished and his features showed the equivalent of a smile. "How do you…you have read about me, right? But we will need a while for a full account, and I need drinks, lots of drinks."

Sagrin chuckled. "You'll get the drinks, but first things first, we've got a job to do, so please follow me to the briefing room."

He led us to a larger room, likewise very sparsely furnished. He briefly recounted yesterdays events and explained the plan the two of us had developed this very morning. Occasionally Racen or Sha'lea queried him about details, Gatok remained silent, content with the prospect to be in the middle of a fight.

As Sagrin had finished Sha'lea sat back, her face mirroring her doubts. "This plan you've laid out has a whole lot of variables, and if one of them doesn't fit this' gonna be a very short mission."

Gatok grunted and commented. "I'm worth some variables in close quarters, 'gonna protect your little blue ass, like always."

Racen chuckled. "Right my friend, you're capable of nullifying some of the _variables_ we may encounter once we're in. But I guess she thought more of the initial phase where we're trying to get access. If the attempt is successful we must act very quickly, and if not the whole plan is for naught."

Sha'lea nodded confirming Racen's summary, both were looking at Sagrin now waiting for a response which came promptly. "You're right, the whole thing stands or falls with the initial trap. But do you have other suggestions, a better idea? We have to act quickly, I cannot wait another week or so waiting for some genius."

I stepped in this time. "If the trap fails we should attack the same way. I'm pretty sure Racen here is able to crack the security on the roof given some time, but in that case we'll need more firepower to defend the roof, especially against air attacks."

Sagrin nodded. "A good point, one I've already taken care for, your drop-off and pick-up will be accompanied by a gunship, I'm going to handle that myself, it's payback time!" His eyes gleamed with anger, a rare display of emotion from the veteran.

"So you're gonna protect our sorry asses from above and good old Gatok will nullify the _variables_ within. Sounds like we're ready to walk the talk." I stated looking from face to face.

"So be it." Sagrin confirmed with a solemn voice.


	16. Wait for the Bait

**Wait for the bait**

After the briefing Sha'lea, Racen and Gatok were brought to their rooms and got their weaponry and equipment. We agreed to meet each other two hours later for lunch. As I came back to our room Serena was visibly relieved to see me. She welcomed me with a warm smile, her eyes betraying her fear. "This was a long status meeting, I already feared you would have to strike immediately."

"No, but now that we have a plan this is only a matter of time. We hired some old partners of mine – a group of three mercs – and the briefing took a while. We'll meet them for lunch at noon, so you'll get to know…". I was interrupted by a knock on the door. Surprised I turned around and suspiciously opened it a little to peep outside.

"Come on, it's me Gray, I won't drag you down – unless you invite me to do so." Sha'lea added in a mischievous tone.

I opened the door completely to let her in. "Hi Sha', come in."

She walked into the room, her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized Serena sitting on the bed in one of my big size T-shirt-skirts. "Sorry, didn't know you've got company, and such a pleasant one." She turned around to look at me with a knowing smile, her eyes sparkling with amusement and whispered. _"__I__'__m__so__glad__to__see__you__in__company,__and__such__a__beautiful__one__besides.__"_

"_We__'__re__not__a__couple,__it__'__s__not__what__it__looks__like.__" _I whispered back. "May I introduce you to my roommate Serena. Serena this is one of the mercs I just told you about, her name is Sha'lea.

Sha'lea stepped forward and greeted Serena in the manner of their kin with an embrace. "It is nice to meet you Serena, and a surprise besides, but not an unpleasant one."

Serena was seemingly a little overwhelmed by the events and embarrassed besides in her clothing. "Thank you, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Don't be embarrassed, I surprised you, that's my fault, not yours." Sha'lea tried to reassure her. She turned back to me. "How did you manage to meet each other in-between all this havoc?"

Serena answered before I could reply. "Gray saved me from some thugs two days ago. As I had nowhere to go he offered me refugee in his lodge. And the next morning this havoc - as you named it – started and carried us away."

"Well, that sum's it up, to be precise this happened right after we met and since then the two of us seem to be cue-balls in a mad game we cannot influence." I added to her summary.

Sha'lea placed her hand upon my breast. "You're still have kindness and care in there, don't loose it or you'll be lost." She made a short pause. "Grave words, but true enough."

"Serena said something comparable, so the two of you can now start to bug me all day long in shifts." I retorted with a wry smile. "Not that I don't like your company, but what's the reason for you being here?"

"I just wanted to meet a friend in private and see how he's doin' lately. Your mood left a bitter taste when you left that day, Racen thinks the same, and Gatok, well, you know Gatok, you're lucky if he thinks at all." Her serious expression showed her concern for me.

"_They__really__care__for__me,__more__than__I__care__for__myself__these__last__years,__how__did__I__earn__this__friendship?_

She left me standing deep in thoughts and addressed Serena. "Are you alright, precious? You seem to be very anxious and boiling with barely restrained feelings and emotions. You're not used to violence in any form I presume?"

She caught Serena unaware with this question and suddenly the dam broke. Her eyes watered and her whole body shivered. But what really terrified me where the little blue sparks that crawled upon her, the air suddenly felt charged with energy waiting for ignition.

Sha'lea cried out. "Serena!" Suddenly the same kind of blue discharges were crawling upon her skin, She touched the younger Asari and for a fragment of a second I had the impression they melded into one being. _"__But__every__Asari__is__a__biotic__…__she__never__said__a__word__she__didn__'__t__have__any__training__…"__._ My thoughts were interrupted as Serena ushered a sigh and went out. Sha'lea lowered her softly onto the bed and sighed in relief herself.

She looked up, her face strained. "For your own sake I hope you didn't know she's an unchecked biotic." Her eyes were burning with anger. "But the way you're looking you didn't, good for you."

"I swear, I'd never saw a sign of this."

"She must have known herself, at least that she never had a training. But her strength is awesome, she would easily outclass me with a proper training for some years." Her voice sounded really tired, her face showing the signs of the struggle with Serena.

"Is she alright, I mean did you…were you forced to harm her in any way? And why did all this show up right now?"

"She is unharmed, I soothed her mind to sleep, she will wake up soon. To your second question I have no answer. She must have barely kept herself in check for the last days and now my question triggered the explosion. Face it, Gray, she's a big danger to anyone who's around her as long as she doesn't learn to at least control her abilities." Sha'lea sat down on the bed beside Serena, looking much more in need of some sleep as her younger kin.

"Can you train her, I mean would you do it?"

Sha' chuckled. "By the way your eyes are begging me to say yes you really care for her. Don't deny it, no chance to fool me this time. Anyway I would train her, but this needs time, I can teach her the basics in a few weeks - which would nearly eliminate the thread - but not how to use her abilities properly."

"As we don't know how long this job will last we can at least use the time we have. And you're right, I care for her, but maybe not the way you're…"

Serena interrupted us with a moan, and she slowly opened her eyes. "Why…what…what happened? Why I….and why does my head feel like…?" Her voice was not much more than a murmur but suddenly she sat up straight and ushered a cry of disbelief. "Oh my god, what have I done? Are you alright, both of you?" Her eyes moved frantically between us, searching for any visible injury.

"Calm down, little one. The harm you've caused can be treated by a good nights sleep on my behalf, so nothing serious." Her voice was soothing, she touched Serena's arm to reassure her. "But be warned. You're a very powerful biotic and I'm pretty sure you never trained your abilities. You're capable of devastating everyone and everything around you."

Serena's eyes were still wide, her lips trembled as she answered. "I knew of my abilities but I didn't know about their strength. What should I do? Can you train me? I always wanted to learn, but…but I couldn't." She lowered her head and voice on the last words.

"Whomever prevented you to train your biotic potential did a grave mistake, you're a severe threat to yourself and everyone around you." Sha' made a short pause, turning her gaze upon me. "Concerning your training Gray asked me the same thing when you were unconscious. To answer both of your questions, I am willing to help you, but it will take time, something we're a little short off lately."

Serena raised her head, gazing at her older kin. "Thank you Sha'lea, I don't know what to say else."

"It's alright. Try to stay calm for now and if you need my help let Gray call me." She turned around to face me again. "And you, My favourite human badass, try not to arouse her in _any_ way, you copy?"

"Got you." I simply said. "I need a coffee right now, 'need something?"

"No, and if you're going for a coffee, you should consider a second one, we should use the chance for a first lesson right now." She answered with an unmistakeable gaze in my direction.

"In that case I leave my room to my favourite two Asari maiden's." I made a little bow to tease them and quickly closed the door behind me. _"__My__room__is__occupied__by__two__adorable__blue-coloured__beauties__and__I__'__m__going__to__catch__a__coffee,__always__wrong__time__wrong__place__as__it__seems__… __that__'__s__your__life__buddy__…__and__ya__' __don__'__t__get__your__money__back.__"_

Two hours later the five of us sat in the ugly cafeteria and enjoyed our meals. In front of me stood my fourth coffee that day as I had to kill some time since _my__two__blue__ladies_ had threw me out of my lodge. I looked upon the others, Serena and Sha'lea deep in a private conversation, Gatok musing about something concerning his food, only Racen returned my gaze and placed a question. "How did you find her? The explanation you picked her up recently is...well…a little vague maybe?" His smile became a little impish.

"Whatever you just thought, forget about it, I'm pretty sure it's totally wrong." I recounted the recent events and concluded with the words. "I don't know the reason for my offer, seemed to be right that very moment."

Gatok had given up to talk to his food and had instead listened to my story. "Gray goes close quarters, that's new." He grunted.

"What a summary my friend, be careful or your folks deem you a philosopher. But if you combine it with the events that followed the next day it's quite a streak you have there. Everywhere you go the fireworks gettin' started." Racen commented my account.

"Then make sure your combat suite's fire proof my friend as you just bought yourself a ticket for the next trip." I grinned back.

That very moment Sagrin approached us and sat down. "Hi guys, got some news you'll gonna like. Our prey has arranged something for his _amusement_ tonight. He was very careful, didn't use any communication devices but a messenger. Poor wretch didn't expect this guy to owe Aria a favour or two." He grinned at that latter aspect.

"So he's cautious, doesn't make it easier then." I remarked.

"Yep, but as we know his destination we have lots of spare time to claim some old debts and arrange something. Be prepared at 6:30 pm sharp at the elevator, it will happen fast then." With a nod he left the table.

A short silence followed, interrupted eventually by Gatok. "Glad that waiting is over, 'could use some action lately."

"The day you're not eager for action must be the day of your funeral." Racen commented with a grin. "On the other hand I prefer to know the timeline, that's better than running on standby whole day long, waiting for an ignition that might not come at all."

"Right, so lets finish our meal and go for our apartment, a last briefing in case we missed something." Sha'lea summed it up. "I'll meet you in your apartment afterwards, we'll continue as long as you can take it, Gray can stay with the other two." She added looking at Serena.

"Seems you're a little other-directed lately my friend, but we'll make it nice and cosy for you, trust me." Racen chuckled, Gatok just grunted his approval.

I shrugged with a wry smile "Can't say I'm totally innocent for the events, so I'll have to sit that one out."

We left for our rooms, I quickly picked up my gear and joined Racen and Gatok in their lodge. The Preparations for the forthcoming battle needed most of the afternoon and eventually it was time to leave.


	17. Walk the talk part I

Walk the talk part I

"I've got to go now, see you soon." I wanted to keep this as short as possible in order not to _arouse __her __in __any __way_ and had already opened the door.

"Gray, wait, please wait, don't run away." Her answer was almost begging, so I stopped where I stood. She wrapped her arms around me and pressed her body against mine. "Please promise me to come back, I know you don't care for yourself, but I'm lost without you."

I gently but firmly freed myself of her hug. "I cannot promise what I a cannot keep under all circumstances, but I'll promise to be careful, alright?"

She nodded, her eyes watered and she turned around and closed the door. _"__And __how __do __you __interpret __that __my __friend? __We__'__re __all __just __good __friends __here, __right__… __I __should __get __moving, __otherwise __the __party__'__s __getting__' __started __without __me.__"_

We met at the ground floor elevator with Sagrin who already awaited us. "Liselle has the information we need, she told us to act quickly, they'll get suspicious if he's missing for too long." He held up his Omni-tool. "I just transferred the encryption, the keywords and some audio files for the voice verification, all are necessary to get in. The suspect was quite willing to help 'cause Liselle convinced him we'd like to install him as his brothers' successor. That son of a bitch will have learned the lesson by now."

"But back to topic: There are lots of cameras on the roof, I guess you can handle that?" He queried Racen.

"If the encryption files work properly and the keys are valid that's a matter of seconds actually." Racen nodded confidently.

"Then let's hope this fool didn't fool us in the end or this' gonna be a short mission." Sha'lea commented.

Sagrin stepped in. "we'll use two shuttles to drop you off and I'm going to take the gunship, take the elevator to the basement, your pilots await you. good luck folks, we're going to need it."

With a nod he left us and we took the elevator to the basement. As I almost had anticipated Jason awaited us there, accompanied by an Asari, maybe one of Aria's or Liselle's intimates as close to no one within the organization should be involved in the operation. "Hi Jason, glad to see you, ready for another rollercoaster ride?"

He grinned back. "They didn't tell me you'd be involved, I'd have resigned if they'd told me. I'll take it we're in a hurry so let's get going."

"Right, let's do the introductions after the job, there should be time for some drinks then."

We boarded the shuttles and left the garage, Sagrin's gunship awaited us outside.

Jason offered me a grin. "This time we've got some real cavalry to cover your poor asses."

"Guess' we're goin' to need it, anyway I'd prefer a smooth ride this time, it'll get rough soon enough once we're inside."

"I'll tell the flight attendants to let you sleep."

He was interrupted as the intercom chimed and Sagrin's voice could be heard. "The diversion attack has started, ETA in two minutes, let me fly in and clean the rooftop a little before you unload our presents, good luck out there, Sagrin out."

"Copy that, waitin' for the clean-up service before we're going in. Jason out."

We remained silent for the rest of the short way, I went through all known mission details again but came to the same conclusion again: This was a journey into the unknown, a wild guess at best.

Jason broke the silence. "We're going down now, prepare for a quick pullout."

"Going down now, looks like some company awaitin' us down there." Sagrin's voice was replaced by the sound of rapid gunfire as he pulled the trigger and then cut off.

The rooftop of the target building drew closer as Sagrin's gunship just finished his cleanup. I prepared myself to jump out of the shuttle and already tried to figure out the nearest cover after the drop-off.

As we reached the rooftop on the far end Jason hit the brakes and brought the vehicle to a standstill roughly a meter above the ground. I nodded in his direction pushed the door open and jumped to the ground, Racen following fragments of a second later. We both surged for the next cover behind some metal crates as gunfire welcomed our visit. The bullets were primarily aimed at the shuttle but couldn't harm the thick front armour plates. Sha'lea and Gatok had disembarked roughly 30 metres away close to the entrance to the lower levels.

"Ok guys, good luck out there, get the shuttles out there, we'll get company, looks like some of these speeders again." Sagrin ordered using the com device.

"Give me a minute here, I'm going to take out those cameras." Racen used the com unit as the leaving shuttles and the gunfire were to loud to speak normally.

I nodded and readied my sniper rifle, cautiously peering out of cover for targets. Our enemy greeted me with poorly aimed assault rifle fire, giving me two seconds to register their hideouts. Switching back to our hiding place I waited a few seconds before activating the cloaking device and emerging from cover in search for targets. One of our opponents fired his weapon on full auto aiming at the corner where Sha'lea had taken cover, suppressing her from taking action. A headshot silenced him finally, and drove the rest of our opponents back into cover.

"I'm ready, was easier than expected, get moving, how many did you count?" Racen stated, his expression calm.

"I counted five, the one I just silenced not within. I'm pretty sure you and Sha' can handle that as long as they don't get help from above."

"Five? that's almost too easy considering the payment, get out of here, by the way a nice new toy you've got there, you should make use of it now."

I nodded, activating it again as it was ready and jumped out of cover surging for Sha's hiding place behind the entrance. Two thirds on my way a stray shot hit my shields and caused the cloak to collapse. Luckily none of our opponents reacted fast enough and I reached the corner of the entrance unharmed. "Gatok, let's move in, before they figure out we're the real threat." Activating my Omni-tool I entered the necessary codes and played the voice verification close to the microphone. "That was almost too easy!" I exclaimed as the door slid open without hesitation.

"Let me go first, little human, you're not bulletproof "Emphasizing his words he shove his bulk into the doorway and led the way down the stairways, his Claymore shotgun drawn and ready.

I readied my Locust SMG and went after him. My Krogan friend surprised me – not for the first time – with his noiseless and smooth movement which betrayed his bulk and awesome appearance. He stopped before another door and activated the panel, surprisingly no additional security measures were needed. Before he could move forward I held him back and whispered. "Let me have a closer look first, maybe we can catch them by surprise".

Not waiting for his approval I slid beside him and activated the cloaking device before lurking around the corner. With the outer wall on the left side I turned right and moved a few metres forward. The long corridor led to a larger and seemingly inhabited room as I could hear faint voices from inside. As time for the cloak ran out I crouched behind a small crate and waited impatiently for the device to reload. As the icon went green I left my hiding place and moved forward now able to make out more details. Shortly before reaching the doorway I activated the cloak again and lurked around the corner. It was a large room and exquisitely furnished with 3 entrances, the one I was standing in, one to the right which was closed and seemingly secured and a third one opposite to me about 25 metres away to the right. This doorway was blocked by a makeshift barricade half the height of the 5 guards surrounding it, all batarian by the looks. One of them had a flamethrower equipped and ready. _"__They __prepared __a __warm __welcome, __the __diversion __attack __seems __to __work __better __than __expected.__"_

Moving back into the corridor where they couldn't see me I activated my com device and whispered. "Move up".

I could see Gatok's shape emerging on the far end of the corridor moving without a noise to my position. "Five batarians in there, one has a flamethrower, let me take this one out using my rifle, the rest is free for all." I instructed him.

He just nodded and indicated me to move forward. I readied my rifle, took a deep breath to concentrate and activated the cloak again. I sneaked around the corner and crouched behind an extensively decorated cabinet made of dark woods standing beside a large couch. On a distance of 20 metres indoors I barely had to aim, released my breath I pulled the trigger. The batarians head exploded in red mist, spraying blood and debris on his companions. They were caught by surprise but reacted like professionals taking cover immediately. Gatok had taken my shot as starting signal for his race to their hideouts, issuing a battle scream on his way. As he rushed past me I had taken cover again and reloaded my rifle. A second later the batarians opened fire on the charging Krogan, his assault had successfully distracted them completely from my presence. A Krogan may seem numb sometimes but they usually see a threat to their live if there is one. The same counted for Gatok and as he threw himself to the floor to bring some obstacles between himself and the enemies fire I emerged again from cover and blew off another head. _"__Two __gone, __three __left. __time __to __play __for __my __Krogan __friend.__"_

This time they had seen me and concentrated their counter-fire on my hiding spot, giving Gatok time to prepare his onslaught. He had used the time to shorten the distance by crawling behind a desk, roughly five metres away from the frantically firing batarians. He looked at me and waited for my sign to charge. _"__Time __for __some __fireworks __my __dear.__"_

I activated the cloaking device – which had eventually reloaded – emerged from cover and threw a flashbang grenade. The stream of gunfire didn't miss me although they couldn't see me visibly and a couple of hits collapsed both my cloak and my shields and I had to take cover swiftly. The grenades' explosion was the signal for Gatok to charge again, this time reaching the hideout. His awesome Claymore shotgun issued two shots and literally disintegrated two of the batarians. The last one kept his wits and hit the Krogan with a full magazine of his light SMG before I silenced him with another headshot.

Gatok shrugged of the hits and turned around, small trickles of blood pouring down his upper torso. "You're alright? By the looks your armour needs a new painting." I asked him pointing on the blood running down his torso.

Gatok just grunted. "Nothing that wouldn't heal in one or two days, this little bastard had guts, 'give him that much. Most are on the run if a Krogan is close enough to kick ass."

"Me included." I chuckled. "like my ass as it is, no need to reshape it."

Another grunt was the answer "Little fleshy things you are, anyway lets put a bullet into this poor wretch we're after and be off with it." He pointed at the secured door. "I bet my share of this mission his hideouts' behind that door."

"Right, let's see if the security codes are valid for this one, too." I tried the codes and the voice verification but to no avail, the door stayed sealed. "Would've been all to easy, right? Guess we need Racen down here." I looked around in the now devastated room. "Looks like the party is over for now, check out the roof, I'll contact Racen to come down."

"Alright Gray, hope they left some for me, this' all too easy down here." With that he ran for the corridor to the roof.

I activated the com unit. "Racen, you copy?"

Random noise answered me at first before I got an answer. "Got you, gettin' a little nasty over here, they managed to drop some reinforcements and our air support is pretty much occupied. Are you done down there?"

"No, there's a door I cannot open, I sent Gatok to aid you but I need you down here."

"Shit…ok…on my way, Gatok just arrived, Racen out."


	18. Walk the talk part II

Walk the talk part II

I waited impatiently for his arrival as our time was running out quickly. He arrived roughly a minute later and immediately started to install some of his tech equipment. "Seems you had a nice little party down here, too. You're sure he's behind that door?"

"No, no chance to be sure, but best guess, and…I was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and harsh voices down the corridor which was blocked by the makeshift barricade.

"Fuck, we've got company, crack that door, I'll keep 'em busy." I ran the few metres to the barricade, rifle in hand and threw myself behind the cover. I chanced a quick look over the barricade and was greeted by gunfire immediately. I could see at least half a dozen shapes in the corridor quickly approaching my hideout.

Switching back into cover my gaze fell upon the flamethrower, its fuel tank still attached to the headless batarian but otherwise intact. _"__A__flamethrower__in__a__narrow__corridor__…"_ I grabbed it, activating both my cloak and the weapon, left my cover and pulled the trigger. The first enemy was barely 5 metres away as the flames engulfed him. Cries of agony and blistering air hit me a few seconds later accompanied by the terrible stench of burning flesh. I had to fight down the urge to add the contents of my last meal to the whole mess.

Slumping back into cover I released the trigger and tried to fight down the revulsion that overwhelmed me in waves. I chanced another look over the barricade and saw dead bodies between the trails of smoke, but no movement any more.

"Ready, get over here and lets end this quickly." Racen cried.

Still fighting against the nauseous images in the corridor I left my cover and ran over to Racen. "Don't kill him immediately, maybe we can take him hostage, he surely has some answers and we can end this sooner as expected."

"You're risking something if we try that, but you're right he's worth more living than dead." With a nod he opened the sealed door only to be welcomed by bullets from a small weapon, most likely a Shuriken or comparable SMG. After the first volley I activated my cloak again and jumped into the room, a lonely batarian stood his ground behind an ornate desk, his body shivering, his eyes frantically searching for a way to bail out. I identified him from the many pictures I had seen in the past days.

"Show yourself and kill me, get it over with." He cried, panic in his voice."

I approached him sideways, he seemingly saw a blur of my movement as he suddenly turned the muzzle in my direction and fired. The first bullets hit me and caused the cloak to collapse and my shields to waver, but they held. I jumped forward and batted the weapon away using my other arm to place a blow in his face which put him down to the floor. With another blow I put an end to his moaning and his consciousness.

Racen entered the room. "Nice one, seems you're growing fond of close combat lately."

"Not really, you've got something to shackle his hands?" I asked while checking his pulse.

"Actually yes, no handcuffs but this cable will do the same." Racen held up a cable of unknown use.

An outraged cry from the corridor alarmed us that new reinforcements had arrived. "Bind him and get him out of here, I'll put up some fireworks again." I surged out of the room and to the barricade again readying my Locust already aiming at the doorway. I reached the barricade shortly before the first attacker and opened fire immediately. The first volley caused him to topple over and his followers to take cover in the several doorways along the corridor. Time enough to pick up the flamethrower and pull the trigger for a second time. This time the effect was not that devastating as most foes could evade the worst by entering the side rooms. I switched the trigger to full-auto and fixed the flamethrower on the barricade using pieces of broken furniture. _"__This__will__buy__us__some__time,__hope__the__fuel__lasts__for__another__minute__or__so.__"_ I ran after Racen who dragged our hostage down the opposite corridor.

On the way I activated the com. "Gray here, we need immediate pick-up. We've got an additional and unconscious passenger, you copy?"

At first only static answered my call, then Sagrin's voice. "Sagrin here, we've got a lot of company in the air, one of the shuttles is grounded already. Reinforcements are on the way, ETA is 3 minutes, you copy? And – just to be sure - who's the passenger?"

"Got it, the passenger is our target, he's a valuable source of information as I see it. I took the chance to take him hostage as we had it."

"You're right, but if we're not able to get him out make sure he doesn't wake up any more, you copy."

"Right, see you soon, Gray out." I had reached Racen while talking and helped him to carry our batarian friend.

"Nice fireworks you've put up down there, buys us some time, although not the 3 minutes we need." Racen commented with clenched teeth. "Gosh, this bastards heavier than a pregnant Varren."

"Maybe he's full of surprises, who knows." We reached the stairs to the roof and carried him up. As we reached the upper door we heard distant gunfire downstairs, so the flamethrower had eventually consumed its fuel supply. "Seems more fun is on the way."

The door closed behind us and we were welcomed by the sound of gunfire again, much closer this time. "Let me check the situation before we move out." I activated the cloak and peeped around the corner but couldn't make out anyone. Turning back behind the cover of the doorway I activated the com again. "Sha'? Gatok? You're out there?"

"O'course we're out there, you thought we'd like to miss all the fun? We're hiding in the mid section between the cooling vents, some of the creepy speeders have fun firing missiles at us in the open." Came the reply from Gatok.

"Sounds like they air is laden with bullets, hope our reinforcements can turn the tide, otherwise this'll be a short escape." Racen commented the constant sound of rapid fire weapons around us and seemingly also on the opposite side of the building on ground level.

I chanced another look and then we moved out as quick as possible dragging our burden with us and reached the other two without an attack.

Gatok greeted us with a Krogan's equivalent of a grin. "Good to see your sorry asses and welcome to our lodge. Why did you bring this batarian badass, no need to drag him around to place a bullet in his head."

Racen snorted. "You're right, but to question him while he has a bullet in his head will be rather boring, ya' know. I fear we've brought some company with us, they're close behind."

"Our pick-up is on its way, a minute or two from now, if they can clear the sky that is." I added.

"Then lets prepare a warm welcome for your friends, I can hear them shouting at the entrance." Sha'lea stepped in and moved to the next corner to chance a look.

We let go of our hostage and hid him below some pipes eventually ending in the large cooling vents around us and moved into firing positions. I heaved myself on a cooling vent to improve my shooting range and laid down. _"__Glad__my__armour__is__not__painted__in__fancy__colours__,__would__have__made__a__nice__cross-hair__for__those__speeders.__" _

Our enemies – roughly a dozen on the first count – had emerged from the door and spread around it to secure all sides. On a distance of 70 metres I targeted an enemy who tried to hide behind a trash bin, unfortunately his head was not behind it as he gazed at the area before him. I released my breath and pulled the trigger, the soldier dropped dead to the ground. "Good shot, reliable as always." Racen whispered using his com.

It took our enemies some seconds to recognize their fallen comrade, nobody had seen the source of the bullet. Someone yelled "Sniper" and they all crouched into cover, gazing in our direction. The tension was almost visible, both sides waiting for the next strike, unsure how to move on. As I aimed on another target I was interrupted by an approaching aircraft closing in very fast. "Take cover, speeder incoming" Racen yelled over com and I let myself drop from the cooling vent. Unfortunately our foes had seen my movement and opened fire immediately as the speeder passed by and opened fire likewise. I scrambled backwards trying to take cover behind the wall, a storm unleashed around me. Luckily I made a small target especially on that distance and only some stray shots hit my shields. I was lying between two cooling vents horizontal to the speeder passing by so he had no angle to hit me directly. _"__That__was__close,__buddy!__And__where__the__hell__is__our__pick-up,__if__they__need__any__longer__it__will__be__more__an__excavation__than__an__evacuation.__"_

As the speeder had passed by I reached better cover behind the corner, Sha'lea crouched beside me. "You're alright? Doesn't look to bad though."

I just nodded as the rain of bullets increased in intensity, locking us down in our current positions while they surely moved forward. I activated the com. "Sagrin, we need that evacuation now, or your cargo will be a lot of dead bodies. We are in the middle of the roof, in-between the cooling vents"

The random noise was followed by Sagrin's voice. "Sorry guys, we still have some trouble here, hold out another minute, we need to regroup and find a safe spot to pick you up."

"Alright, you heard him." I addressed the others. "We need to hold out another minute and then retreat to the pick-up location. Gatok and Sha', save the access point to this maze over there, Racen takes care of our hostage and I'll get back on that roof and take down as many as possible, move now!"

Moving a couple of metres aside I hauled myself up another cooling vent, cloak activated to prevent my movement. As I had assumed our foe had split into two groups, one keeping up the suppression fire, the other advancing on our hiding place. They had already crossed two thirds of the distance as I was ready to shoot again. Aiming at the first target the charge of my new best friend was gone and I returned to the visible world again. As before nobody recognized me immediately as my grey armour fit the concrete of the vent. I pulled the trigger and one of the advancing soldiers collapsed. I reloaded the rifle and aimed at the next target, this time much closer, releasing my breath I sent down another one. This time they had seen me and part of the suppression fire was redirected. I quickly activated the cloak again and jumped of the vent.

"Incoming now, as you have company, move to the front side of the building, we're going to pick you up right behind those vents." Sagrin barked over com. Multiple aircraft approached the building now, bringing gunfire with them.

Quickly changing cover between the vents I reached the others shortly, Gatok had already tossed the batarian over his shoulder, his huge shotgun ready to fire with one arm. "Let's move out now, they're close by. Sha' you take the lead, I'm the rear guard."

I nodded and Sha'lea ran first, followed by Racen and me before Gatok moved last.

As I looked back one of our followers appeared in the corridor and raised his battle rifle, aiming at the Krogan. "Watch out." I cried, but it was already too late. The weapon issued a stream of bullets which hit the wall first before finding their target. The bullets hit Gatok on his right shoulder, the first hits were absorbed by his shields before it collapsed and patches of his battle armour together with ricocheting bullets filled the air around him. The huge Krogan turned around in a swift motion – covering our hostage as much as possible with his body and fired a single shot with his Claymore on a 10 metres distance. The recoil of the huge weapon sent his arm flying and he nearly lost the grip on it. The effect on his opponent was devastating as the impact penetrated both shields and armour, he collapsed to the floor leaving a mist of blood in his wake.

We continued our run and reached the two hovering shuttles, the doors had been already opened. Jason greeted me with a grin as I climbed into the shuttle. "Good to see you in one piece, seems you like those little fire-fights."

I grinned back. "Sorry I didn't bring you a little present, this time no blue hostage to be rescued, just a sorry batarian ass."

"In that case I'll pass, maybe next time."

Gatok threw our hostage into the aft section before entering the shuttle himself, his weight causing the hovering vehicle to waver. As the doors closed our pursuers arrived and opened fire, but the armour of the shuttle was way too thick to be penetrated by a singly volley. The second shuttle had taken off already. As Jason lifted it from the roof a damaged Gunship – obviously Sagrin - appeared from the right with blazing guns forcing our pursuers to take cover. The other shuttles – all in all six of them were now present, the gunship not counted – surrounded us as we headed back to Aria's headquarter. Several speeders could be seen in the distance, but seemingly they didn't risk to attack the combined force. A couple of minutes later we had safely landed in the garage.

The tension and adrenaline left me and I inhaled deeply. "That was close, a minute later and we'd be dead corpses on a filthy roof out there."

"They were on your heels for sure. What about a beer tonight, it's about time?" Jason replied.

"Count me in, but make sure you've got enough supplies." Gatok's rumbling voice could be heard from the back. "And get movin', this things' not made for Krogan, kind of cramped in here."

"Right, let's get movin'. And concerning the beer, can you arrange something for the whole crowd tonight?" I asked Jason while jumping out of the vehicle.

"I'll ask Sagrin 'bout that, I'm sure he's happy enough with the outcome of this little jaunt to be generous."

Gatok scrambled out, musing something about "fleshy things" and "cramped space". He jerked the still unconscious batarian out of the shuttle and tossed him again over his shoulder. "Where do we put this wretch, don't wanna carry him around 'whole day long."

"Hand him over to me, we've got a lot of questions for him." Sagrin stepped in as he approached us. "Good job, nicely done and an ugly little present of high value on the top, I'm impressed, and that happens not often these days."

Sha'lea and Racen reached our group in the meanwhile. "Thanks for the flowers. was though enough, that's for sure." She replied to the compliments.

Liselle – the Asari who had acted as bait earlier this day – and a Salarian accompanied Sagrin, Gatok handed over the batarian, obviously relieved to get rid of him.

"Let me take care of this wretch and we'll meet in an hour for a short debriefing in the same room we met this morning." Sagrin added and went after them.

"Ok, folks, here's the plan. We get rid of this armour and refresh ourselves, get this debriefing done and Jason here takes care for the evening. As Gatok already pointed out so politely we'll need a lot of supplies in beer and other narcotic beverages. Alright?"

They all agreed on that delicate _plan_ of mine and we headed for our rooms.


	19. About beer and other narcotic beverages

**About beer and other narcotic beverages**

As I opened the door to our lodge two dark blue eyes fixed on me immediately. Serena jumped up from the bed and crossed the distance in an instant to embrace me in a bear's hug. "I'm so relieved you're alive, are you alright? Since you left I was on the edge, didn't know I can be that impatient!"

Her hug attack made me smile. I gently loosened her grip on me, placing my hands on her shoulders. "Calm down, I'm alright, ok? And no, I won't tell you something before I had a shower."

"Now that I know you're alright, I can wait, but better hurry, my patience won't last for long." She was smiling now, her eyes gleaming.

"Then we have a deal, on the other hand if this is the way you show your impatience I may get used to it." I had already removed the upper parts of my armour in the meantime.

She slapped me on the arm. "Don't say that, it'll drive me nuts if I have to endure that all day long!"

I grabbed some fresh clothes and went for the bathroom. As the warm water washed away the days remnants I couldn't help but smile about her welcome. _"__But __what __does __that __open __demonstration __of __concern __mean? __Does __she __care __for __me __as __a __friend __or__…__is __it __somethin__' __more? __Do __I __misinterpret __this __completely __and__ – __more __important__ – i__f __not, __what __am __I __gonna __do __then? __I __can not __just __skip __all __those __memories __and __press __the __restart __button, __running __away __doesn__'__t __work, __that __much __I __know __for __sure. __A __simple __hug __yesterday __evening __made __me __cry __a __river. __I __have __to __deny __her __if __it __comes __to __that, __she __deserves __somethin__' __better __than __a __psycho __on __the __edge__…"_

I dried myself, donned some fresh clothes and left the bathroom where Serena awaited me impatiently. "You must have ants in the pants by the looks, you're inviting me to tease you a little longer…" I asked her accompanied by an impish smile.

A flying pillow from the bed was the unmistakeable answer. Holding up my hands in defence I couldn't help but laugh. "Ok, ok, I give up, had enough fighting for that day."

"Good decision, you should stick to that." She answered with a stern expression which was betrayed by the smile that she wasn't able to conceal completely.

I recounted the events of the mission while leaving out most of the nauseous details, no need to disconcert her more than necessary. "Now that we have one of the plotters in our grasp it is only a matter of time before we can lift the shadows around this conspiracy."

"And that's what's scaring me, 'cause this is not over yet." She said in a solemn voice.

"In that you're right, but at least I didn't expect it to be over beforehand."

"I may not have expected it, but I still hoped somehow that we can leave this cursed station – the sooner the better. Part of me knew that it's a vain hope, but nevertheless…" Her sad voice trailed off.

I touched her arm to reassure her. "Don't be sad, today was a big success all in all, and who knows, maybe they can handle everything without additional assistance from my side?"

"You don't believe that yourself, so don't try to replace one futile hope with another. But thanks for trying to comfort me." She made a short pause before continuing. "But you are right, I should be rejoicing that all of you came back alive, at least for today."

"You're right, I don't believe that myself, anyway we'll meet in ten minutes for a debriefing and afterwards Sagrin announced food and drink on his bill this evening, I guess you'd like to join us?"

She didn't answer immediately "You think that's ok for the others? I mean I didn't help a bit to make this happen, so…"

I cut her off. "You're wrong, you found the loophole to get in, so count yourself in."

"You would have recognized that by yourself, and by the way you didn't have permission to show me the data, or am I wrong?" She returned in kind.

"How, by sleeping on the desk? And even if I had seen it, maybe it would have been to late to arrange everything. Come on, you'd like to come, don't deny it. I cannot imagine you prefer another possibility to kill the time in this apartment."

"Ok, you've won this one. Another day alone in this room and I'm going to rearrange the furniture to train my biotics."

"Ok, then that's settled." With a smirk I teased her further. "Maybe you should consider some other clothes on the occasion, these Shirts of mine may cover _certain__parts_of you but I'm sure you have something that suits you better."

I had already retreated from the bed to prepare for the counterattack, anyway the second pillow hit me in a split-second. "You're getting better, next time you'll hit somethin' vital. I'm lucky you're out of ammo now." Still chuckling I retreated further to the door and opened it. "I'll pick you up after the meeting."

"Be off with you, or I'll find somethin' else to throw." She shouted after me, her tone betraying the rude words.

I met Jason on my way to the elevator and Sha', Racen and Gatok in front of it. As we arrived at the appointed room, Sagrin and the Asari Liselle were already there. "I hope you all had time to cool down a little and get rid of the days remnants." Sagrin opened the conversation.

Sha'lea sniffed at Gatok who was standing right beside her. "Well, I can't judge his temperature but I'm sure those remnants are still on him."

She earned laughter from all sides including the Krogan, seemingly in a good mood. "You fleshy things still don't get it, a Krogan Warlord bathes in the blood of his enemies, not in water."

"In that case I am sure we will find some odour to prevent your comrades from getting poisoned." Sagrin chuckled. "Anyway, I want to keep this short, I'd like to thank you all for the great job you did today. We were not only able to achieve the goal of the mission, you captured this batarian. We're already preparing the interrogation and I'm pretty sure the information we get is valuable." He made a short pause, looking at everyone. "Did you gather any additional information, anything we should know?

"Primarily we killed everyone except that wretch, no time to gather information though." Gatok rumbled in his deep humming voice.

"Right, was to be expected, does anyone of you need medical treatment?"

I took a look around. "Gatok, what about your arm, this shotgun of yours has a hell of a recoil, to fire it one handed would bunk my arm out, you're sure everything's alright?" I had seen him trying to avoid the use of his right arm."

"Krogan heal faster than you fleshy little things, should take only a couple of days." His defensive reply came as expected.

"I don't doubt that. But we may very well need to act earlier again, to make sure you are fully recovered a medical treatment can fasten the process." My diplomatic answer caused Sha'lea to smirk.

He gave in sooner than I had expected. "Well then, tell me where to go if you insist on that. By the way my armour could use some polishing, you've got a workshop here that is fit for Krogan equipment?"

Liselle answered this time. "I will take care for that, please prepare your armour and if necessary weapons, I arrange that they are picked up in your rooms and repaired, no need to do it yourself."

"Then that's settled, anything else or can we proceed to the fun part?" Racen threw in.

Sagrin showed a hint of amusement this time. "Right, the fun part, Liselle already prepared something in about an hour, you'll be picked up in front of the elevator in the basement. We decided not to use the cafeteria as location, too much traffic there."

"Has someone objections if I bring Serena? I don't wanna leave her upstairs, she's getting nuts from waiting." I asked, not that sure any more if Sagrin would agree.

Liselle answered instead oh him, a mischievous smile playing around her mouth. "We are aware that she is too close to you to keep her completely outside, so we assumed she knows what's going on and observed your room permanently to be on the safe side. So I presume she already knows what we'll possibly talking about."

I needed a few seconds to swallow that. "Not the answer I expected but so be it, we'll see each other in about an hour."

We parted and headed back to our rooms, Sha'lea held me back as we reached her lodging. "Don't tell her, she doesn't need to know, it will only agitate her, and we both know we should prevent that, ok?"

I nodded. "You're right, no need to tell her, doesn't make a difference in the end. They will continue to observe the room anyway."

"Tomorrow I'd like to continue the biotic training, is it ok for you if you hang around with the other two again?"

"O'course, I begged you to train her, and it's obvious the two of you need some privacy to do so."

"I just wondered if you can bear another day Gatok's company."

"He's not that bad after all, and it's quite amusing to tease him together with Racen."

Sha' chuckled. "Don't tell me, most of the time this' the only thing that keeps me from ripping him apart."

"I can imagine that, anyway I'll tell her about your plans for tomorrow. See you soon!"

"Take care" She turned around to access her lodging and I continued my way to ours.

As I opened the door Serena already awaited me. She seemingly had taken my teasing serious as she wore a tight crimson dress, in combination with her blue skin the sight was breathtaking. "Wow, someone took me serious it seems."

Her roguish smile told me that she had anticipated my reaction. "Do you think this covers enough parts of me?" She asked playfully.

I couldn't prevent the skew smile that crept on my face. "Well, it certainly covers enough parts, but it also ignites the imagination."

Her smile grew wider. "I'll take that as a compliment. Don't you think this is a little too sexy for such an event."

My gaze swept down and up again. "Well, I must admit it might be a little too much for the occasion, do you have something less eye-catching? Don't get me wrong, this really suits you, but it's not a formal reception."

"Don't worry, I expected to change clothes again, just wanted to tease you a little." She smirked at me now.

"I can assure you it worked, and you don't have to hurry, we get picked up in the basement in about 30 minutes." I had to force myself to look somewhere else. _"__And __I__'__m __pretty __sure __she __recognized __my __gaze __very __well.__"_

She left for the bathroom to change clothes, leaving me pondering what just happened. _"__Is __she __really __trying __to __catch __my __interest __or __is __this __just __typical __Asari? __They __are __known __for __an __open __relation __to __their __body __and __tend __to __wear __curve __hugging __clothes__… __anyway, __for __her __kin __she __is __very __young, __maybe __she__'__s __just __playing __around, __like __human __teenagers __do, __who __knows. __And __why __do __I __bother? __In __a __few __days __this__' __going __to __be __over __and __after __all __this __mayhem __she__'__ll __be __glad __to __leave __it __behind __her.__"_

She came back in a less irritant dress which nevertheless suited her. "You seem to have a lot of fancy stuff in that little bag of yours."

"Actually only those two are worth the depiction fancy, but thanks for the flowers." Came the reply as she put the first dress back into her bag. "That spares me the question if you like it."

"Now that you mention it, I'll try to find something halfway presentable but I fear that's in vain. Nearly all my clothes are practically oriented, no need to be fancy usually." I started digging through my clothes finally coming up with a standard black T-Shirt and trousers with less than 8 pockets.

Serena glanced at me, her gaze sweeping up and down. "That's good enough if you ask me, I presume this' not gonna be a fashion parade."

"Me too, and if not: I can very well live with the worst-clothes-of-the-evening award. All I need is a beer and a good night's sleep. You're ready?"

She nodded. "Yes, although I don't know what a beer exactly is, but I'm sure I'll get the chance to find out." She added accompanied by a smirk.

We left for the elevator, picking up the other three on the way. Sha'lea embraced Serena when we met, Racen came close to me and whispered inquisitively. "Those two seemingly made friends very quickly, that reminds me of you waiting downstairs yesterday drinking this hot black beverage - I forgot the name – all the time."

I smirked at him and replied in a low voice. "The name is coffee by the way, and your perception is remarkable. There's more to it, Serena has never trained her biotics and Sha' agreed to train her after a little _accident_ yesterday that luckily happened when she was present. Don't know much about Asari, but I guess if they _meld_ – or whatever they do then – they share a lot of their own self."

"That explains one thing or another, I assumed something…different…" His voice trailed off as he got aware that two pairs of eyes were gazing at him, both framed by beautiful and ageless faces.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Sha' quipped, her left eyebrow raised in question.

"We just noticed how beautiful our company looks today." I chipped in to save Racen.

Sha's gaze swept her gaze over to me, her mouth forming a wry and playful smile. "You're a liar, but at least you're charming."

We continued our way to the elevator and as promised we were picked up by Liselle when we reached the ground floor. She led us to a medium sized room which was prepped with seating's and platters of food awaited us. Two small wooden barrels caught my eye. _"__Seems __they __got __some __barrels __of __ale __somehow, __impressive__…__and __welcome!__"_

Sagrin and some others – I guessed the pilots of the different shuttles - had waited for us and opened the buffet immediately. "Fell free to eat and drink, enjoy!"

Gatok grabbed a plate and piled it with different pieces of meat right away.

Racen chuckled. "Someone seems to be very hungry, enjoy it my friend, but leave somethin' for us."

Gatok already chewed a big piece of meat so his answer was muffled. "You'll have to hurry, could eat a Varren with bones right now."

We all helped ourselves with some food and sat down in various groups, Serena took the place next to me. "Gray, may I ask you to get one of those _beers_ as I don't know what exactly to look for."

"Finally a task I like, wait a sec." I stood up again heading for the barrels, the left one was digestible for Turians and their likes the other one for humans, Asari, etc.

I tapped a couple of beers from both barrels and handed them out finally getting back to Serena with two glasses. "Now I'm eager to see if you like it, although I assume this won't be the case."

She took the glass and sipped, followed by an immediate grimace which made her opinion obvious. "Well, I certainly like the coffee more."

I chuckled and took the glass back from her. "Don't worry, I can handle two glasses of ale. Maybe you should ask Sha', her drinks are famous for their taste...and their side effects."

"Is that so? Well, I certainly have to try myself."

After the first appetite was sated I found myself beside Racen and the young pilot Jason, both holding glasses of ale in their hands, leaning back and pondering the days events.

Racen took a sip and leaned forward to lower his voice. "We've got a lot of recognizable blue beauties around us, don't you think?" His question was accompanied by a mischievous smile.

"You name it my friend, hard to concentrate if you ask me, especially after I had 4 beers already." Jason replied, his gaze sweeping over the suspects. "Truly I cannot decide which one's my favourite, maybe except Liselle, she's giving me the creeps, too cold and determined for my likings."

A knowing smile played around my mouth before I answered as both of them now were gazing at me. "I cannot deny you're right, but you won't get an answer to your true question my friend, nice try anyway." I now looked at Racen. "I like her, that's for sure, but I have to rest the past before I can think about any future."

Racen chuckled. "Should' have expected you'd be too smart for this." His features were serious now. "To the latter part, you should get started, or you'll get locked in it, and I believe the future could be promising." He gave Serena another side glance while saying this.

"Sorry guys, the newbies' a little lost now, if you'd like to discuss this in private I'm out, won't blame you, don't worry." Jason now stepped in.

Racen turned to him now. "Sorry for that, but some things must be said, and I'm finished with lecturing this guy here for today, I'll poor us another round, you're in?"

We both nodded and I glanced at Serena who was deep in talks with Sha', seemingly her new best friend. Serena's excitement was almost visible, her eyes were gleaming with joy and her smile would have lit the room if not for the lights. _"__Sometimes __she __reminds __me __of __human __teenagers __with __this __youthful and innocent __enthusiasm. A__nd __then __she __astonishes __me __with __a __comprehension __and __wisdom __most __humans __fail __to __achieve __in a lifetime__…"_

My thoughts were interrupted by Jason who's gaze had the same target. "You must admit she's quite an eye catcher, and she obviously likes you."

"True enough – in both cases – but to like someone doesn't necessarily lead to more than friendship." I replied thoughtfully.

Racen came back with a new round of ale. "Cheers guys, hope you're ready for another round."

"Cheers and thanks for the beer, but back to topic you hardly see an Asari which is not beautiful, moreover they seem ageless and graceful, no wonder most species are fond of them."

Racen chuckled. "It's not the looks only, I can assure you."

This very sentence seemingly caught the young guns' attention and he started to fire lots of questions at Racen. The evening went on with more ale, a lot of talking and more drinks from Sha'lea. Later on a seemingly jolly Serena came over to sit down beside me. "Hi, my guardian angel, are you alright, you don't seem to enjoy the evening?" Her voice was a little slurry already.

"I do, but I'm not the kind of guy who gets totally hilarious after some beers. And you'd better keep away from Sha'leas cocktails now, you'll gonna have a very bad day tomorrow."

"Come on, don't be the killjoy now, I'm having a lot of fun for the first time in a long time, so stop lecturing me." Her voice had an aggressive undertone now.

"No need to get aggressive my dear, do whatever you like."

"I'm sorry, I intended to cheer you up a little, guess I've failed on that, anyway I wanted to say that I really like you." With the last words she embraced me accompanied by a kiss on my cheek and a whisper close to my ear. "Don't back away, I want to help you to get rid of your past."

She caught me by surprise and my initial reaction was to back off from her. I needed all my strength to withstand and let go the tension. _"__This __is __harder __than __any __fight __I__'__ve __been __into.__"_ I felt the urge to pull back again as her embrace, her scent and the touch of her skin on mine flooded my mind in a flashback.

Blurring images of _her_ face, _her_ smile, _her_ teeth, _her_ laughter… –

It was too much, the urge to pull back overwhelmed me and just as I started to fight myself out of her embrace as Serena's soothing voice cut through my clouded mind. "Shhh, let go, let go of your tension, let me help you to find peace, I beg you." The words - this time they were spoken with a serious undertone - seemed to reach through the maelstrom and the images ceased, leaving me trembling.

She released her embrace, her eyes were locked on mine as I opened them. "Sorry for that, but there are certain people here who think you could use a little help to overcome your past. I must admit I underestimated your reaction, and this' for sure the wrong place, I'm sorry."

I tried to focus still a little dizzy from the flashback. "It is ok, I blame it on the drinks, alcohol tends to lower the inhibition threshold, ya' know."

"I felt so…so invulnerable, I thought I'll give you a kiss and push the reset button, and you'll be fine. Now I'm embarrassed for behaving like a child." She lowered her head while saying this.

I put a finger under her chin to raise her head again. "Hey, come on, it's alright now, some lessons are to be learned the hard way, alcohol usually resides in this section. Besides, I can imagine worse things than to get kissed by you." I added with a smirk.

A hint of a smile appeared on her face finally. "The next one is not for free, you'll have to ask nicely."

I couldn't help but return her smile. "Than be prepared that this might happen, given the right time and place that is."

Sha'lea approached us. "Good for you that few have watched this little incident. Are you alright, Gray, you're still trembling slightly?"

"Had better times, but I'm alright. Maybe I should get some sleep, more alcohol won't do any good." I replied calmly.

"What happened, was it just my touch that raised old memories? I could feel your turmoil like an explosion soon after…after I kissed you." Serena's voice still sounded conscience-stricken.

"I had a flashback or somethin' like that, hit me like a hammer…" My voice trailed off. "And before you ask, let's leave it at that."

Serena just nodded and started to turn away. "Sorry again, don't be mad at me."

Sha'lea held her back. "Stay with me, please. Don't blame yourself too much for it, wrong time wrong place but for the right reasons." She turned around to me. "Go to bed, Gray, she'll be fine with me, ok?"

I nodded and left the little party as quiet as possible. On the way to our room the images from the flashback haunted me, vivid like today's fight. As I finally reached the door, tears were flowing freely, my whole body was shivering. _"__So __much __for __things __getting__' __any __better __these __days, __feels __like __the __dam __is __about __to __breach__…"_


	20. Breakfast at Aria's

**Breakfast at Aria's**

After an uneasy night I woke up the next morning. _"Feels like I've been hit by a dreadnaught, never mix battle & beer, guess I'll never learn that lesson…"_

Turning around I found the bed empty beside myself. "Serena? Are you in the bathroom?...Well, no answer is also one." I stood up to take a shower. _"Hope she's with Sha', she seemed really conscience-stricken, and I must admit this time it is for a reason."_

The cold water washed the numbness away and I felt refreshed despite my aching muscles. I donned some clothes and went for the cafeteria to catch a coffee and some breakfast. It was nearly deserted when I entered the room – considering the advanced time of the day no real surprise - only a few tables were occupied. On the far end I made out some familiar faces, Gatok and Racen were busy eating their late breakfast. I poured myself a coffee and piled some food on my plate and sat down at their table. "Hi guys, how is it today."

Racen looked at me with weary eyes. "Let's say we had a couple more drinks after you left the party silently. Maybe the last one was foul, anyway my head feels like a bee-hive."

Gatok rumbled his affirmation. "Those drinks of Sha' always put me over the edge, whatever she brews there, it's devastating!"

Racen persuaded his features to come up with a wry smile. "Yeah, but they taste great."

"Speaking 'bout her, where is she?"

"Well, your two favourite Asari maidens seemingly have a way with those drinks, Sha' kicked us out an hour ago. They're currently practicing biotic skills in our lodge, that's basically why we are here, I'd prefer to stay in bed for the rest of the day." Racen answered, still wearing his wry smile.

"So it seems we've got some time to kill, any ideas how to solve this issue?"

"Do we actually look like we're havin' ideas? I'm fed up with staying awake currently." Still that wry smile.

I glanced at him inquisitively. "Well, at least you keep smiling, can't be that bad after all."

"Believe me, this is one of the worst hangovers I ever had, you missed the fun part, guess you and Serena had a little disagreement before you left?"

"Let's say we had an _accident_ which had the same origin as your hangover."

"An _accident_?" Racen's smile disappeared. "That she has a crush on you is kind of obvious, even Gatok had mentioned it. But you're so occupied with your own past that you didn't see that coming, right? The drinks only lowered her barriers, this would have happened sooner or later anyway."

"you're maybe right, but this was definitively the wrong place and the wrong time to…"

He interrupted me. "Gray, listen to yourself, according to you there's never the right time or the right place to get along with your past. I heard this very excuse at least ten times during the past years on the few occasions we met." Despite his obvious weariness his voice was clear and precise.

He dumbfounded me with this attack. _"Maybe he's right, but not today…there you go buddy, caught in action and guilty, so far for the excuses."_

"You're maybe right my friend, it is about time for a change, but right now right here _is_ neither the right time nor the right place. But I'll get to that after this mission."

"Well, that's a promise I'll remind you about if necessary, and I know at least two women in fancy blue will assist me in that, maybe I can even convince old Gatok, right?" He bumped Gatok with his elbow.

The Krogan's head snapped up, he obviously had taken a little nap. "Hm? Sorry, missed that one, something important?" His weary gaze swept from Racen to me and back.

"Never mind, actually it has been so nice and cosy while you took your nap." Racen chuckled. "The mighty warlord finally beaten – by a barrel of ale!"

Gatok moaned extensively before he was able to answer. "Maybe I should show you how beaten I am actually, you'll fit into that ale-barrel when I'm finished."

"A Turian in an ale barrel while a Krogan moans like a toad beside him, I like it. But let me fetch my camera first, if you please."

Now both turned around to me, Racen still chuckling. "Be careful or you'll get both our attention. Anyway be sure I'll remember what you've said, and I'm going to remind you."

I nodded. "Fair enough, my friend, fair enough."

"Stop that gloomy talking, or I'll skip the breakfast and beg Sha' for more drinks." The Krogan's rumbling voice closed the discussion and I was glad about it.

"You begging me, never thought I'll live to see that!" Sha'lea and Serena had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, or – and that might be the more likely reason – we all were to drowsy to recognize anything else but our immediate surroundings.

Serena sat down at a small table close to us as our chairs were all occupied but stayed silent, her head held low. Sha' halted before me gesturing in Serena's direction. "The two of you have something to discuss, I suggest we switch places."

Racen chuckled. "Honeymoon's over my friend, and you thought it hadn't even started yet."

A killing glance from Sha'lea silenced him quickly, her gaze returned to me, eyebrow raised in question. "Well?"

"Who could resist such a friendly invitation? Although I don't get it, she was drunk, overconfident and overstepped it a little, shit happens, I'm not mad at her."

"Don't tell me, tell her, and be gentle." Her answer was firm and serious.

Taking my coffee mug I walked over to Serena's table and sat down. "Good morning, little one." I made a short pause, as no answer came I continued. "To be straightforward I am not mad at you, and I don't want to talk it all over again, I'm too drowsy today to discuss this in full length."

For the first time she raised her head, revealing her puffy eyes. "Hi Gray." She swallowed. "I'm glad to hear you're not mad at me, but there's more to it than just the incident itself, at least for me."

"Well, Sha' _suggested_ the two of us have to talk, here I am, I told you I'm not mad at you and I'm usually not the resentful guy. Are you going to tell me more or does it stay that ominous."

Her features showed the hint of a smile for the first time. "You're maybe not resentful but you're definitively impatient. I' going to tell you more, but not right here, would you mind if we go to our room?"

"Not before you've done with your breakfast, my dear. And you're right, patience is not a trait I claim to have." I answered with a reassuring smile, trying to comfort her a little.

"If you fetch me one of those coffees we have a deal." This time the smile was clearly visible. "Guess I'll need some of those to get past the day, my head aches terribly and I'm still dizzy a little.

"There's only one way to get to know alcohol: the hard one!" I couldn't help myself but grin on that. "Well, I'll see to the coffee, be right back:"

When I came she had eaten her small breakfast. Gesturing on her plate I placed the coffee mug before her. "Want some more?"

"Hell no, I was barely able to convince myself to eat at all, and I'm still unsure if I can convince my stomach to keep it."

"Well, if not you're going to see it again very soon. And before you start beat me 'cause I'm mean, I'm down that road before, and not only once, be sure." I commented with a smirk.

"Don't worry, I'm glad to sit and walk upright, and I'm pretty fed up with these tasks." With that she took her mug and stood up. "Shell we go? I could use a bed, and a new head besides."

"Leave the head where it is, it's a pretty one and who knows what you get?" I couldn't stop myself from teasing her. _"And besides, it isn't a real hangover without the mockery."_

She glanced at me, halfway pleased and halfway sad, but said nothing. _"I see where this is goin' to end, seems Racen is right and she has a crush on me, as if I won't have enough problems on my own I can't figure out. Maybe I should ask Sagrin if he has another suicide mission for today, that way I'll most likely miss out the confession session in castle Carlyle & Massana. And to make things worse Sha's gonna kill me if I hurt her little protégé."_

In the meanwhile we had reached the elevator and went up to the first floor. Silently we walked to our lodge and I opened the door and let her in. Taking a last deep breath I followed her, halfway assuming what will follow.

She slumped on the bed, obviously enjoying it to sprawl herself into the linen. "This feels so much better than sitting in the cafeteria, you wanna accompany me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Under different circumstances I would count that as a very obvious invitation to deepen our relationship, but I presume this was unintentional."

Her eyes grew wide in astonishment. "No, but…no that's not what I meant, I just…"

Her obvious astonishment caused me to laugh out loud. "Sorry, that sudden change from total comfort to total bewilderment was too hilarious." I sat down on the bedside, still trying to calm down.

She hit me with a pillow on the head. "This' gonna cost you dearly." The next blow went home, but I was able to block the third one before starting my counterattack. I caught her arms after evading another blow, rolled over and pinned her down to the bed.

"I must admit your quite agile for a first-timer hangover, here's your only chance to give up."

She tried to free her arms but to no avail. "What if I won't? You're gonna bind me?" She asked with a roguish smile.

"Better not, looks like you'd like it." I released her and rolled over to the other bedside, placing my head sideways on the pillow in question. "And what's next now that I _accompany_ you?"

She turned around to face me, her features suddenly had a sad expression, the smile had vanished. "That depends on you and what you say after I'm finished." Her voice sounded drop dead serious now. She took a deep breath and continued. "The last couple of days were taxing for me in many different ways, being exposed to death and violence for one, followed by shuttle races while the air is laden with bullets, waiting for you to return in one piece, being part of a conspiracy that engulfs this whole station and – last but not least – you."

Before I was able to issue a question she raised her hand. "Please let me finish first, I'm going to explain the latter part." She took another deep breath before locking her eyes onto mine again. "We only know each other since a few days but to me it feels like it has been months already, whether this is due to the events that came to pass I don't know and I don't care, it is as it is. As things are you are more to me than just a friend, I wouldn't go that far and call it love, but certainly it is a deep affection. I'd like to be near you, I'd like to touch you, I'd like to kiss you…" Her voice was trembling now and faded, the midnight blue of her eyes blurred as tears filled them and the first drops rolled down her cheeks.

I couldn't help but catch some of the tears with my free hand. Unable to say anything as a mixture of grief, guilt and fear were choking me I crawled closer and embraced her. In the first moment she tried to resist but gave in all to readily and pressed herself against me, her head buried between my shoulder and throat. _"This is even worse than expected, how do I deal with a 97-year-old teen Asari with a huge crush on me? And is there more to it from my side or do I just suppress it like everything else?"_ I held her close for several minutes, this time feeling more comfortable with the physical contact.

Her sobbing ebbed and ceased eventually, her grip loosened and she made eye contact again. "Gray?" Her voice was thin now, barely a whisper. "I'm sorry, I'm doing the one thing I know I shouldn't do, I put pressure on you and that's gonna drive you away and…"

Gently I put a finger on her lips. "Shhh, don't blame yourself for doing the one thing I constantly deny myself, you can't suppress your feelings and emotions, at least not forever." I took a breath. "The only thing I need asking from you is to have patience. I won't promise you anything right now, but I also won't deny that I let you come much closer than anyone else in the last years. I've got a lot of creepy stuff in my backpack and I won't advise you to try and sort it out, but it seems you gonna take a shot anyway."

"Your damn right 'bout that." She replied gentle but firm. "And I'm relieved you're not pushing me away at all, as anticipated."

With a wry smile I responded "If not for my past you'd have a hard time to keep me away from you, but as things are this' gonna be a tough fight with an unpredictable outcome."

"I'm willing to take my chances on that." Keeping her eyes locked to mine she slowly closed the distance between us, I felt her warm breath on my skin and finally our lips touched for a split-second before she withdrew. Although I felt the nearly irresistible desire to touch those lips again, the sensation released a flush of vivid memories, leaving them raging in my mind, nagging at my sanity. Seeing me trembling Serena wrapped her arms around me this time, holding me silently until the trembling ebbed and ceased, eventually concluding into an uneasy sleep.


	21. Awakening

**Awakening**

A couple of hours later the com unit chimed and aroused us from our prolonged nap. I woke up recognizing two blue arms still entangling me from behind. Worming my way out I answered the communicator. "Gray here, what's up."

"It's Sagrin, you've got an appointment 30 minutes ahead, Aria is awake and wants to see the two of us, get your sorry ass down here." The Turian answered, his voice unusually anxious.

"Got you, will need a couple of minutes to get ready and I won't leave this building without a gun in my hands."

"Alright then, meet me downstairs at the shuttles, we'll be waitin' for you." He ended the call.

"_This one's anxious like hell, I wonder why, she'd be cheering at what we accomplished in the short time. However, I should get going."_

When I turned around two amazing blue eyes gazed at me. "I suppose you get dressed, he seemed to be in a hurry." Was her simple comment regarding the short dialogue. "I wonder why he seemed so anxious, not that I'm an expert, but I'd figured you've done quite well regarding the circumstances."

"My thoughts exactly." I grabbed the upper torso piece of my armour to don it. "There's only one way to find out."

"Right, so be off with you." She lowered her head. After a few moments of silence except the muffled sounds of my armour she raised her head again. "Gray" barely a whisper.

I stopped in motion as her barley recognizable voice carried a deep sadness. "Serena." Moving closer to her I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Hey, I'm not going on a combat mission right now, ok?"

"I…I know, but so much has happened in those few days and I can't distinguish between wrong and right any more. I told you 'bout my feelings and at first it felt right, but I fear I'm driving you away with all that. You're clamped enough with you're mission and I keep buggin' you with the petty feelings of an Asari youngling."

I sat down beside her and hesitantly took her hands in mine. "Serena, listen to me. You're led by your emotions and feelings and you express 'em as it's usual for your kin and that's absolutely alright. In fact I'm the best example what happens if you're tryin' to contain and condemn your feelings and emotions."

"Seems you're considered a youngling by your kin but remember, you're thrice my age, a lot o' time to gather knowledge and wisdom, although it might be not on that specific battlefield called relationships. There's a famous saying among my people: Life is a lesson, you've learned it when you're through." I took a deep breath, her sad expression had lessened a little.

"I'm fine, thanks for the kind words and your understanding, and now be gone, or that Turian will come up and _collect_ you."

"Alright then, see you soon." I exited our room and went down to the shuttle area, Sagrin, Liselle and another Asari awaited me together with a couple of pilots, Jason among them.

I raised an eyebrow. "Hi guys. So it is four shuttles today? You're not takin' any chances this time."

"After yesterdays events, I'm not takin' chances on anything, better be safe than sorry."

"Agreed, doesn't hurt to be cautious."

We entered the shuttles and took off to meet the uncrowned queen of Omega. The flight was uneventful and all of us were rather glad about it. As we approached the clinic I recognized the tight security around the perimeter, guards on every door, on the roof and on patrol. Additionally shuttles were circling the sky around the building.

"It seems the strength of our troops hasn't lessened, an impressive force you've gathered down there." I commented towards Sagrin.

The Turian snorted. "Only the air patrols, the guards at the main entrances and inside are own troops actually. All the rest is hired guns to discourage enemies. I doubt it'll be enough to frighten them off once they get desperate."

"Well, then lets hope we can bring her back to the headquarter as soon as possible."

"This's actually my biggest concern, she'll be vulnerable on the run and I'm sure we'll be attacked once in full force once we're taking of. I'm in for suggestions."

"_That's what's worrying him all the time, maybe she's desperate to leave the clinic and he doesn't have a clue how to accomplish that. _

"Let me put some thought into that one, for now we've got an appointment." I replied calmly, already pondering about possible ways to get her safely back to her quarters.

The Turian and me left the shuttle, the others stayed outside as only the two of us were invited. Each door we passed was tightly guarded until we arrived at an elevator; the door was open and the guards had build a defensive position around the entrance. Every enemy would have to fight through a bulletstorm to get past them. Sagrin nodded to the guards and entered the elevator. Once the doors were closed he used the retina scanner to identify himself.

"Only me and Liselle get past this scanner, besides some selected doctors and nurses o'course. Her room is three floors below ground so an air attack is pointless."

"Seems you've done everything you could to protect her, anyway she's vulnerable out here." I commented his explanations.

"My thoughts exactly, that's what all the fuss is about. Since we've landed a hit yesterday I've got a knot in my stomach 'bout this place. And my stomach's responsible I'm still in one piece after 20 years on this hell-bent station." His voice was calm but had a grim undertone.

The elevator doors opened before I could answer and we stepped outside into a small hall nearly bare of furniture. Liselle awaited us already.

"_She seems to be closer to Aria as I assumed, she's much younger, at least as far as I'm able to judge an Asari's age that is."_

I was interrupted in my thoughts as the Asari stepped forward and addressed us. "There you are. She's awake and approachable, but still weak, she drifted off a dozen times in the couple o' minutes I talked to her."

"Considering the blow she swallowed a few days ago that's more than anticipated." Sagrin commented. "Anyway we should keep this as short as possible."

Liselle raised an eyebrow. "You tell her that, she's burning with anger and she wants to bite back. Try to keep it short and calm, don't overstrain her."

I listened to the conversation silently as Liselle addressed me directly. "As I told her what you've accomplished she insisted to get your sorry ass over here. Don't know the reason but be prepared to get the nicest job in the pipe." Her gleaming eyes were accompanied by a wry smile.

"That's the bane of success, isn't it?

"Get used to it, once this's over and you're still alive you gonna be one of the big boys in town." She nodded into the direction of the door." Now move, although she's pleased with you, she's still impatient."

Sagrin moved forward and opened the door as noiseless as possible and gestured me to get in. She sat half upright in her bed surrounded by various machines issuing a constant murmur and occasional clicking or hissing noises. Her usually purple face was pale for an Asari and had a strained and skinny appearance as if she hadn't slept or eaten for days. The eyes were deep-set but gleaming like dark gems and fixed on me. Beside no obvious injuries were visible, although the rest of her body was covered by blankets, cables and other unrecognizable stuff.

"Forget 'bout sayin' somethin' polite, for someone lickin' my boots I gonna ask the nurses. If not for you I won't sit here like an old hag surrounded by all those hissin' and hummin' machines, and that is why I'll need your services again." Her voice was hoarse and low but carried an angry determination.

"Well, I skip the amenities, straightforward is it then. I saved your ass back there and now the payback mission's on me, too. My situation hasn't changed a bit, someone out there wants your ass and mine likewise. That's pretty much fucked up situation, how do we bail out?"

At first she didn't answer, then a barely visible smile played around her mouth. "I guess you're well aware of the irony that the obvious solution to your misery is my death, and yet you not only prevented exactly that but also played a major role in savin' my organization." She paused again, maybe to wait for a reaction from my side, then continued. "Considering this I'm sure I can trust you, elevatin' yourself into a very small circle of people."

"Guessed that much, you didn't bring me here to tell what I already knew." It was a statement, not a question.

The smile broadened a little. "I've got a task for the two of you." Her gaze switched to Sagrin who had remained silent so far. "Get me out o' here, better today than tomorrow."

Sagrin and I exchanged a quick glance, just what the Turian had suspected. He nodded. "I assumed that much. Still I don't have a plan, especially considering all those clickin' and hummin' machines attached to you."

"I already asked these gibberin' doctors 'bout that and I'll get along for a time without 'em. Of course they don't recommend that. And I won't get their recommendation for quite a lot of stuff I'll intent to do."

Sagrin snorted, his mandibles flared. "Somehow I knew you're gonna say that. And I'm pretty sure they won't recommend a rollercoaster ride like Gary and me enjoyed the other either."

"Sounds tempting, but for once I'm inclined to agree, clearly not recommendable."

"Well then, chances for a ground transport?" I chipped in.

Sagrin shook his head. "Takes too long, we'd have to cross half of Omega, that's an open invitation to send us to hell."

"Agreed, if they know 'bout the transport that is."

"You'll be sure the whole building is under permanent observation and every vehicle arriving or leaving will have highest attention." He stated.

"Right, but if they hunt down wrong deer, another one can sneak out unseen." Four doubtful eyes were fixed on me as I continued. "We pretend to fly you out with full security and everything, assuming they take that bait we sneak you out in a standard ambulance shuttle shortly after."

Sagrin's face resembled the Turian version of a frown, mandibles flared, he obviously disliked the idea, while Arias face didn't betray her thoughts.

She addressed her security officer without commenting my proposal. "Your opinion is quite obvious. Anyway give it a second thought, the longer I'm stayin' the higher's the chance they gonna give it another shot right here. Right now they're licking their wounds, this' gonna change soon enough and surely they'll come back for a second try."

The Turian nodded hesitantly. "Agreed, but if they're not going for the bait…you're as good as dead."

The Asari closed her eyes for some moments, breathing heavily. As she opened her eyelids again her expression was grim but determined. "I'm willing to take the risk."

A seemingly endless silence followed. _"And now guess who's gonna play the bait in this game…sometimes I should think about consequences before actually opening my mouth."_

Aria continued as nobody said something. "Sagrin, you gonna coordinate the fake escort, Gray and Liselle will accompany me in the ambulance shuttle. I'll arrange everything on this end, get back to me once we can get started, and be quick."

The Turians mandibles flared again before he spoke. "Honestly I don't like it, lacking a better idea, we gonna give it a shot." He gave me a side glance. "I'll need a couple of hours preparing everythin'. What 'bout the other guys Gray hired, I've seen them fighting - quite an asset if you ask me."

"Airborne their skills are wasted, Racen's a decent pilot but I bet you've better ones in your team. Leave them out of it waitin' in a shuttle circling the area, and if it gets nasty somewhere groundside we're droppin' em right into the shitstorm."

Aria grinned. "I bet your Krogan friend's 'gonna like the idea, and it's good to know we've an ace up our sleeves." Her gaze swept from me to Sagrin. "Then that's settled, let's get movin' boys."

Sagrin's face pictured grim determination and he just nodded before turning around in order to leave for the elevator. As he had left the room her attention switched back to me. "He's an old war horse, reliable as a rock but not the one you'd call for clever tactics."

I raised an eyebrow. "I figure you'll need both on the long run. But right now the direct lane is blocked, we'll have to take the by-road"

"Make sure Liselle knows the details and brief our little shitstorm team, somethin' tells me we're gonna need 'em. I'm taking care of things on this end and see to means of transportation."

I nodded and left the room just to run into Liselle who waited impatiently on news as the Turian seemingly had left her standing in the dark. "Don't dare to run for the elevator, I'll pin you to the wall before you'd even know it."

"Nice to meet you, too. Sagrin didn't agree to the plan how to get her out o'here, so he was steaming a little as he left. Before you ask, it's you and me who'll fly her out."

I filled her in on the details before calling Racen on a secure channel. I didn't find him surprised about my call. "Gray, 'bout time someone tells us what's going on. Couple o' minutes ago this whole building started to hum like a bee-hive and nobody's tellin' us what all the fuss is about."

"Well, you won't like it, but here's the plan, and seemingly we're in the middle of the shitstorm again."


End file.
